The Crossover Saga
by Stoney
Summary: Prepare for a journey that none can expect. Danger has come which none can detect. A hero is needed, to fight and to heal...but who, where, and why, only time can reveal. When all else is finished, who shall have won? Welcome to the Saga. It has begun.
1. Prolouge

The Crossover Saga  
  
By Stoney (stoney107@yahoo.com)  
  
President, JoBo Enterprises Inc.  
  
~Really Strange Legal Jazz~  
  
Everything in this story is copyright to Nintendo, Capcom, and Sega unless otherwise noted. Why? Because they said so! So there!  
  
JoBo Enterprises would like to state that the opinions contained herein do not reflect those of the company and any company affiliates, but are the private ones of the author. Any relations to actual characters, places and/or events are entirely coincidental, except in the case where they purposely aren't, of course. You may print this story, laugh at it, save it to your computer, make paper airplanes with it, feed it to your dog, use it for origami, tear it up, glue it back together, vandalize property with it, test it for explosives, hold toast with it, create goofy drawings on its back, jump on it, eat it, set fire to it, use it as a substitute for salad dressing, clean your ears with it, and wad it up into balls to throw at people, as long as A. You don't change the text itself, B. You don't make any money off it, and C. You DON'T use it for toilet paper. Do not try this at home (unless you really want to). Part of a complete and balanced breakfast. If product induces vomiting, consult your physician. Mind the gap. Not valid to worms, apricots and electric drills. Subject to ten percent returned funding after 60 days with mail-in rebate. Caution: Contents under pressure. Lather. Rinse. Repeat. Do not operate heavy machinery while using this product. This side up. Bake at 360 degrees for 20 minutes or until crust is golden brown. If product causes eye irritation, discontinue usage by a large percentage. Void where prohibited. Not a significant source of vitamins A, C, and Z. Contents may settle during shipping. You must be age 21 or older to drink this product. "Blah" is a trademark of JoBo Enterprises Inc. and may not be reproduced without permission. Do lawyers actually go around reading these things? If not, then why the heck am I writing this?!?  
  
(Thank you for your time and attention while reading some warped author's bizarre idea of what a legal disclaimer should look like.)  
  
On with the story already!  
  
  
  
Prologue  
  
  
  
Every time something happens, something else changes.  
  
At least, that's what all the big important scientists say, so it must be true. This occurs no matter what it is that happens. If you knock a chair over, the chair's position is changed. If rain or snow falls, things get wet. If you step on an anthill, an animal army gets wiped out. If you make goofy faces at yourself in the mirror, you begin to feel silly. If the sun sets here, it rises somewhere else. If you insult your boss at work, you either get fired or quit. If superstitious people break mirrors, their luck changes for the worse. If I write too many of these examples, you'll get annoyed and start flaming me. If a baby is born, the population increases by one. If you play two-person Solitaire, you realize you're a blithering idiot.  
  
In the particularly twisty field of physics known as Quantum Mechanics, there is a theory called the Copenhagen Interpretation. According to it and the very, very many other theories by many different people (some of them not always entirely sane), it is possible that whenever the slightest tiny change occurs, an alternate universe is suddenly spawned that is comprised of what might have happened if you hadn't stepped on that anthill, or hadn't insulted your boss. Even the slightest tiny change in any facet of our lives can give birth to a split universe that tells one of these possibilities. And since there have always been so many things constantly changing everywhere, it's safe to say that the amount of alternate universes that have been created from our own is indescribable.  
  
And even then, the alternate universes also contain changes. So obviously, these changes would then cause even more alternate universes to form. This universal multiplication has been happening since the Big Bang, so it's logical that somewhere there is a universe where humans never evolved from apes, or Dinosaurs never became extinct.  
  
Since any number of changes could occur in an alternate universe (also known as "other dimensions" or "alterverses") over time that would make it different from our own, it is theoretically possible that every imaginary or fictional setting ever created by any musician, author, painter, writer, or engineer actually does exist in an alternate universe somewhere.  
  
The implications of this are staggering. It would mean that somewhere there is a universe where Hobbits live in holes and shun adventures, or where alternate-Earth humans fly through space in the starship Enterprise, or where all human beings look like Picasso paintings, or where a beagle named Snoopy sleeps on top of his doghouse and fights the Red Baron.  
  
It is not widely known if it is possible to bridge the multiple universes (and if it is, no one knows how to do so), but no evidence has arisen to prove that one couldn't perform such an act. So what might happen if you were suddenly taken from the universe that we know, and were plunked down into one of the alternate ones? It might happen at any time. You could just be sitting down at the breakfast table, minding your own buisiness and eating Cap'n Crunch cereal, when another universe would show up and turn your life into the equivalent of Something Not Good. What ya gonna do, when they come for you?  
  
Would you go bonkers?  
  
Batty?  
  
Bananas?  
  
Befuddled?  
  
Bemused?  
  
Bewildered?  
  
Bald? Er, wait...  
  
Or, would you adapt to the change, if only for the reason to point and laugh at the less fortunate individuals who choose one of the above?  
  
Hmmm. Tough choice.  
  
This is the story of two people whom this happens to. One day, they are suddenly ripped apart from everything they know and are flung into an entirely unknown world. There, they must learn to survive with the new people and places that they shall encounter, and do some pointing and laughing along the way.  
  
One of them is named Mario. The other is Mario's brother, Luigi.  
  
They, too, are from an alternate universe. In it, an army of mutants are at war with a peaceful race of sentient mushrooms. The mushrooms' bodies are slightly short and mostly humanoid, with faces that are fairly normal- looking save for their conspicuous lack of noses. The mushrooms are rather intelligent and capable of speech. Most of the time they speak English, though for what reason is unknown. These fungi live in a land that has become known as the Mushroom Kingdom. In this kingdom, the mushrooms (known as "Toadstools", or "Toads" for short) live happy and carefree lives under the watchful eye of their kind and caring monarch. Mario, Luigi, the monarchy's current ruler Princess Peach, and Peach's cousin Princess Daisy, are currently the only humans on the planet.  
  
Mario works as a plumber for a living, with Luigi usually accompanying him on his jobs. They are maternal twins, and although they don't look exactly alike, their features are similar enough to give those unfamiliar with them a hard time discerning who is who. To make the job easier for most people, the brothers wear different outfits during work hours, each in that brother's favorite color; Mario's in red, Luigi's in green. They each also wear a colored cap to go with their outfits. Strangely enough, the red cap Mario wears is adorned with a white 'M' on its crown, while Luigi's green cap displays an 'L'. Both of them say that they have had these caps for as far back as their memories go. Needless to say, the caps are the most prized possessions they own.  
  
Most of Mario's plumbing jobs come from the Princess and take place in her huge castle, so Mario and Luigi usually spend the bulk of their work time in or around there. When not on the job, The Mario Brothers (as they've come to be known) usually prefer recreating on the castle grounds or in sports tournaments held every year in the nearby Castle Town. They mostly enjoy tennis and golf, but they have been known to compete in mini-kart racing every now and then.  
  
Unfortunately, the Mushroom Kingdom is oftentimes subject to attack by the mischievous Koopa Klan. The Koopas are a race of giant, mutated turtles with humanoid arms and legs, and they are also headed by a monarchy. Their monarch, however, is a lot less friendly; his name is Bowser, King of the Koopas. He is a giant, fire-breathing monster with near-impervious hide, standing over 10 feet tall at his full height. Bowser seems to have a certain affection for pointy objects; with a shell studded with spikes, two sharp horns atop his head, spike bracelets encircling his arms and neck, razor-edged claws on his hands and feet, and a mouth full of pointy white teeth to back it all up, the Koopa King has been a lifelong nemesis of Mario and Luigi for as far back as they can remember.  
  
After having made several attempts to face Mario alone, Bowser decided to try a new tactic: The brothers were simply too well guarded for him to make a suitable attack directly......so why not have them come to him?  
  
After several failed tries, Bowser managed to kidnap Princess Peach, which forced Mario to come to his castle in order to retrieve her. A furious Mario then decided to pay back the favor by destroying the entire Koopa Army on the way there. Then, when he got to the castle, he engaged Bowser in a frenzied battle, which eventually ended with Mario knocking Bowser into a deep pit, trapping him and saving the princess.  
  
But Bowser wasn't beaten yet. He managed to climb his way out of the pit using nothing but his bare claws, and tried the same tactic again; kidnapping the princess and making Mario come to him to do battle instead of vice versa. Each time this happened, though, Mario always managed to beat Bowser back with a fury and anger that even Peach and Luigi agreed was rather unlike him.  
  
One thing they did know for sure, though, was that Bowser was not one to surrender very easily. Again and again he tried, each time hoping to finally beat Mario in their inevitable encounter. And each time, Mario still somehow managed to drive him away. But Bowser knew that there would come a day when Mario wouldn't be so lucky. Until then, he just needed to bide his time and wait......  
  
(Cue ominous music...) 


	2. Chapter One: Red-Handed

The Crossover Saga  
  
By Stoney (stoney107@yahoo.com)  
  
Chapter One  
  
Red--Handed  
  
  
  
Castle Toadstool, 6:38 AM.  
  
  
  
Pale gray light illuminated the pink roof of the castle, preceding the brilliant golden light-show of dawn. Birds twittered and fluttered past the window looking into the room of the Mario Bros., singing their personal anthems as a wake-up call to all who heard them. Dewdrops beaded the long grass below as all Earth's creatures on this side of the globe arose for the day. And at the window, someone watched it all.  
  
Some people thought this time of the day was best used for sleeping through. Luigi, however, thought differently.  
  
He loved every part of the mornings. Especially the sunrises. He would start every day that he had off work by getting up early and coming out to the balcony outside his and Mario's house. There, he'd watch the glowing red sun slowly inch up over the horizon, spreading its fingertips of rose throughout the brightening sky. And now that they were once again visiting the princess' castle, he refused to break the habit. It was a time of the day that just seemed so peaceful, so quiet, so........  
  
A loud snore from the room behind Luigi crashed into his thoughts. The snore was followed quickly by another, then some snorting and coughing, before resuming again.  
  
Luigi frowned irritably. On the other hand, Mario could never be bothered to get up at such an hour.  
  
He clapped his hands over his ears, trying to stifle out the snores; it did no good. Mario's snoring, according to Luigi, barely beat out air-raid sirens, fingernails on chalkboards, and heavy metal music as the #1 Loudest and Most Annoying Sound On the Planet. Finally he gave up and attempted to ignore it. This was also impossible, as Mario had now started wheezing to accompany his snoring. Luigi gritted his teeth.  
  
No. He mustn't. He couldn't wake Mario up now because of something like this. Although Mario was normally a rather nice and easygoing guy, his sleep was one thing he held great importance in, and anyone who would attempt to take it away from him would usually pay, and pay dearly.  
  
In other words, if Luigi woke him up (especially this early), Mario would probably throttle him in a sleepy rage. Luigi growled in annoyance as the snoring doubled in volume. It was a miracle Mario hadn't woken up half the neighborhood for miles around already.  
  
Finally Luigi opted for an early morning stroll to get away from the noise. He walked back into the room where he and Mario slept whenever they visited Princess Peach's castle, grabbed his work clothes from his suitcase and put them on, snatched his cap up from its' peg on the wall, and walked out the door, shutting it quietly even though there was no need for it.  
  
He found himself in a hallway that was painted completely in shades of pink. Luigi smiled slightly. He had never really understood Peach's bizarre fascination with that color. Of course, he thought while looking at himself, he had never really understood his own preference to green, either.  
  
Luigi padded softly down the hallway, attempting to make as little noise as possible. Another deafening snore emitted from his and Mario's room behind him and he stopped, sighing. Aw, who was he kidding? Mario could wake up the entire castle before he even made a peep. Dunno how the castle's other residents - mainly Peach - put up with it. He shrugged off the thought and resumed walking, this time at a normal pace. Eventually, he came to a staircase perpendicular to the hallway. With the snores he knew to belong to his brother now faint and far away behind him, Luigi began to descend.  
  
Halfway down, the stairway intersected with another hallway, then continued on the opposite side. As Luigi was crossing it, he suddenly heard a startled shout from his right.  
  
"Oh, Luigi! I didn't see you there."  
  
Luigi turned. Standing a few meters away was Princess Peach's cousin, Princess Daisy. Daisy had long, brown hair as opposed to Peach's blond, and was currently standing in front of the door to her room in a yellow nightgown. Luigi suddenly blushed red.  
  
"Um......hi........Princess........" Luigi stuttered. He slowly drew a circle on the floor with his boot, seeming to find something remarkable in its surface. For some odd reason, he always seemed to get all nervous around Daisy whenever he saw her. It wasn't the same kind of nervousness he got when he was, say, entering Bowser's domain. No, this was a kind that caused butterflies to dance in his stomach and his throat to restrict, preventing him from speaking very easily.  
  
"What are you doing up so early?" Daisy asked, not noticing his change in behavior.  
  
"Um........I........uh....." Think, Luigi, think!  
  
"......I have to....um......go to the bathroom." He finished lamely. Daisy smiled suddenly and gave a short laugh.  
  
"Oh, okay. Sorry to bother you then. You just startled me is all."  
  
"Um......yeah......okay....." Luigi muttered, still unable to look at her directly.  
  
Awkward silence ensued. Luigi tried to keep himself from visibly shaking as Daisy attempted to resume the conversation.  
  
"Well, uh, do you need help finding it or something?"  
  
"Uh......n-no thanks.......I....I think I can find it, th-thanks anyway." Luigi clasped his hands behind his back and scuffed the carpet with his toe, a move that Mario often thought of as his trademark.  
  
"Okay. I'll see you later, then. Bye!" Daisy waved at him with a smile that made Luigi's insides twist themselves into a tight knot, then opened the door and re-entered her room.  
  
Luigi took a deep breath and let out a long, shaky sigh of relief when Daisy was gone. Why did she always make him do that?  
  
He got a grip on himself and resumed walking to the stairway. He reached it, and continued his downward trek. Funny - he never seemed to feel that way around Peach, he thought as he descended. He had first met Daisy when he and Mario, along with Peach and one of her royal guard, managed to rescue her from the evil alien Tatanga when he had invaded her kingdom of Sarasaland. Somehow, just looking at her had made him feel lightheaded. He remembered how ridiculously he had acted when he had seen her for the first time, unable to take his eyes off her as he stuttered like an idiot in response to her questions. He felt embarrassed at the mere memory of it.  
  
But then Peach had suggested that Daisy come to live with her for awhile, so as to gain protection in the form of the Mario Bros. Daisy had been reluctant to leave her kingdom, but had eventually agreed. Luigi frankly still couldn't tell what had eventually made her do so - sure, he and Mario were pretty good fighters, but he doubted that they'd be of much help if the entire Koopa Army suddenly appeared on the doorstep without warning.  
  
Of course, it's not as if Mario was against the decision. In fact, he was probably the most enthusiastic at the idea out of them all. Luigi couldn't understand this. He had asked Mario for an explanation one day, and Mario had given him a strange look and replied that he was simply helping out.  
  
This only made Luigi even more confused, but he finally decided to just let it slide. He was good at doing that, especially since Mario could often make decisions that were simply unexplainable.  
  
He had reached the bottom floor. Pushing the thoughts to the back of his mind to mull over later, Luigi began a casual journey through the castle's numerous hallways.  
  
Then his stomach gave a protesting growl, reminding Luigi what time of day it was.  
  
"Breakfast time!" Luigi chorused in a sing-song tone of voice. He immediately changed his route to take him directly to the kitchen.  
  
  
  
  
  
He was flying.  
  
How was he flying? Oh, wait - his cap. He felt around on the top of it. Hmmm, it had wings attached to it. They were flapping very fast and very quickly, somehow providing accurate lift to propel his entire body through the air. His arms were held out horizontally to either side of him to provide balance.  
  
He looked down. Wow, he was high up.  
  
He began to laugh in an almost childlike glee as he became filled with the carefree sensation of flight. He tucked his arms tight to his sides and went into a steep dive, streaking down to the flowered fields below. At the very last second he pulled up, his boots barely skimming the petals of the flowers for a second before he ascended back into the sky in a glorious swoop. He let out an enthused cheer as he soared nearer and nearer to the sky.  
  
"Yeeeeeeeeee - haaaaaaaah!"  
  
The thrill of flying making him reckless, he did a tight corkscrew dive followed almost immediately by a loop-de-loop. He whooped in wild joy as he began a series of airborne gymnastics that he could never have possibly accomplished on the ground. He tiptoed across treetops. He flew with a flock of birds. He did a barrel roll through a rainbow at high speed. He soared straight up through the cloud cover and came up above an ocean of billowing white with the most brilliantly blue sky imaginable opening up all around him. He laughed again.  
  
But then he felt himself growing warm. He looked up. The sun was shining directly at him, focusing a beam of its terrible solar energy directly on his cap. He gasped in horror as he heard a sizzling sound, and felt around the top of his cap to find that the wings had been completely burned away.  
  
Then he was falling.  
  
He howled in terror as he felt himself flash downward through the cloud cover, accelerating alarmingly. He continued to scream as he fell unchecked to the ground below.  
  
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH............"  
  
  
  
Thump.  
  
"Oof!"  
  
  
  
Mario groggily opened one eye. The sun was shining through the window directly into his face. He had fallen out of bed.  
  
He attempted to sit up, but his feet were hopelessly tangled in his covers and immobile. He yelled and kicked. He growled and punched. He even tried scrambling to an upright position while still tangled and jumping up and down. But nothing worked. Finally he snorted in annoyance and settled down to work the knots out of the covers that had so securely trapped him. Amazing. The entire Koopa Army couldn't keep him at bay, but a single sheet of fabric had done so all by itself. He shook his head and smiled at the irony of it all.  
  
Then he heard a knock at his door.  
  
Mario looked up, horrified. Oh, no...  
  
Another knock. "Mario? Are you awake?" A muffled feminine voice asked.  
  
Mario redoubled his efforts to escape, fighting, lashing, and straining with all his might to get free. He was absolutely terrified at the thought of someone seeing him like this.  
  
Knock-knock. "Mario?"  
  
"Uh......just a minute!" Mario called to the door in a faint Italian accent. "I'm......um......getting out of bed!"  
  
Well, that was true enough. He snarled angrily as something inside the covers got snagged on his shoe and pulled ferociously against it. He was fighting so hard, he didn't even notice the door open and someone enter the room until he heard a voice behind him ask bewilderedly, "Mario...?"  
  
Mario paused. He looked at the doorway to find, of all people, Princess Peach gazing at him in surprise. She was dressed in a pink gown with white hand lace, red heels, blond hair flowing like a golden river down her back, and her royal jeweled tiara perched atop her head. Her shocked expression was growing more amused by the second as she took in Mario's condition. "Mario," she asked slowly, with a slight grin touching her face, "what are you doing?"  
  
"Er......" Excuses failed him.  
  
Peach couldn't help it. She burst into gales of helpless laughter.  
  
Mario blushed brick red in complete embarrassment. This only caused Peach to laugh harder.  
  
Mario grew angry. Still blushing redder than a tomato, he gave a low growl. "Yeah, yeah, go ahead and laugh......"  
  
Peach finally managed to calm down enough to where she could look at Mario without snickering. At this point she went over to help him untangle himself, still grinning. "I'm sorry." She amended as she kneeled down to work at the covers' knots. "It's just that I needed a good laugh, is all."  
  
Mario looked up at her and some of the red faded from his cheeks. "Is Daisy still leaving?"  
  
Peach's grin faded and she sighed, her shoulders slumping. "Yeah." She replied quietly. "She says that it's not right for her to remain here while her subjects might be in danger. I tried to talk her out of it, but......."  
  
Tears began to well up in her eyes. Mario watched her sympathetically. Many times, Peach wanted to protect her family more importantly than anything, even herself. Which, Mario admitted, was only understandable. After all, the rest of Peach's relatives had been killed in a major war that had occurred before Bowser even rose to power......apart from herself and Daisy, she had no family.  
  
Peach immediately began to blink rapidly and wipe the tears away with her hand, seeming to return to her usual cheerful self. "Anyway," she smiled, "I came up to tell you that breakfast is ready......"  
  
Mario was so deep in thought that it took a few moments for this to register. When it did, his eyes went wide and he immediately leapt to his feet.  
  
"Really??"  
  
Peach nodded, and Mario began to run for the door...  
  
...and fell flat on his face, due to the covers still wrapped around his feet.  
  
"Ow!"  
  
Peach smiled wider. Although sleep was nice and all, eating was the one event that Mario thought of as the most important part of his day. If he didn't eat three times a day (at least), then life in his opinion had simply not been lived to its fullest potential.  
  
Mario slowly climbed back to his feet, holding his nose where it had absorbed the brunt of the impact. "Ouch." He groaned.  
  
Peach giggled and moved over to resume untangling Mario, whom patiently sat and waited while she did so, still holding his3 nose.  
  
"...Peach?" He asked quietly.  
  
"What?" She asked, not looking up from her work.  
  
"I need to ask you something........." He began.  
  
"Yes?" She prompted, eyes still on the sheets.  
  
"Do you...............have an ice pack?" He winced.  
  
Peach looked up, blinked, and suddenly realized that Mario's nose had turned red and had begun to swell.  
  
"Oh!" She exclaimed. "Well, I think so....hang on a second, I'll get a Toad to bring one up when I'm finished with this..." She suddenly turned back to her untangling.  
  
"There! All done!" She exclaimed at last, removing the sheets from around Mario's legs. Mario stood up and stretched. "Oh, wow, does that ever feel better!" He exclaimed, stretching one leg out so far that Peach was sure it was about to grow a foot in length. But it didn't, and now Mario was looking at her with an eager expression on his face. "Now," he began while rubbing his hands together in anticipation, "did I hear you say something about breakfast...." He winced again and held his nose. ".....and an ice pack?"  
  
Peach grinned. Whatever troubles she might have herself, Mario was always able to provide a laugh to cheer her up. "Sure. C'mon."  
  
  
  
  
  
Castle Toadstool Dining Room, 7:12 AM.  
  
  
  
The chef stared in complete amazement. Never, in his entire career as the Royal Cook of Mushroom Kingdom Castle, had he seen something like this.  
  
One of the Mario Brothers was eating.........a salad!!  
  
Of course, the person in question was Luigi, who happened to have a more normal appetite than his older brother. But still.......  
  
Luigi munched happily on his lettuce, radishes, and carrot sticks. Mmmm, vegetables. Ever since Mario had told them of their adventure in Subcon, he'd had a strange craving for them. Yum, delicious....  
  
"Mmf.....by combimentzh........to.......de fhef!" he managed to get out between bites.  
  
"Thank you, sir." The chef replied, still staring wide-eyed at the spectacle.  
  
  
  
Suddenly the doors to the dining room swung open to admit Princess Peach, followed closely behind by Mario holding an icepack to his nose. All those currently in the dining room immediately bowed except for Luigi, who stared in puzzlement at his brother, a forgotten carrot stick held halfway to his mouth.  
  
" Do by faunt to fo?" He asked his brother as he approached.  
  
"What?" Mario asked, his expression becoming one of confusion.  
  
Luigi swallowed and said more clearly, "I said, 'Do I want to know?'."  
  
"No," Mario replied while sitting down next to Luigi, "you don't want to know."  
  
Luigi shrugged and went back to eating his salad. Mario wrinkled his nose at Luigi's choice of dish, or at least tried to.  
  
"Bro, how can you stand to eat that stuff?" he finally asked, while looking at a nearby menu. "I mean, the chef has such a wide variety of selections available..."  
  
"Mario, you're drooling again." Luigi whispered quietly to him. "And as for my selection..." he resumed in a normal voice, "...if you're so against vegetables, you and Wart should team up sometime." When Wart had invaded Subcon, they found out that he absolutely hated veggies, and that they had driven the alien off by force-feeding vegetables to him.  
  
Mario got slightly red in the face. "It's not that I don't LIKE them!" He protested, while wiping his mouth with a napkin carefully. "it's just that I'd rather have......um......oh, waiter!" He called, causing a Toad to come scampering over. "Just give me everything on this side of the menu, a little of this, and a little of that." He handed the menu to the waiter, who's eyes had grown as big as the plate in front of Mario. "Um......that might take a while." The waiter replied slowly, waiting for Mario to yell out 'Just kidding!'. He didn't, but instead said, "That's okay. I can wait a little bit."  
  
He attempted to give the menu to the waiter again, who simply stood, completely petrified as the implications of this statement sank in. Mario waved a hand in front of his face, but the waiter didn't move. Mario sighed. "Third time this week." He mumbled as he got up to go give the order directly to the chef himself. Luigi smirked from behind his food, and Peach grinned, having already sat down in her seat across the table.  
  
Once Mario was out of hearing range, Luigi turned to Peach. "So," Luigi began after swallowing his food, "Why was Mario playing Rudolph just now?"  
  
Peach snickered. "Sorry, he made me promise I wouldn't tell you." She replied while wagging a finger at him.  
  
Luigi made a mock-hurt face. "Spoilsport."  
  
Peach grinned. "Nosey!"  
  
Luigi made another face. "Party-pooper!"  
  
Peach giggled like a schoolgirl. "Eavesdropper!"  
  
"Now wait one second!" Luigi interrupted. "I was NOT eavesdropping!"  
  
"So what?" Peach replied while smiling sweetly.  
  
Luigi hmm'd, thinking. "Well, you got me there."  
  
Mario returned to sit back down, this time without the menu. "Okay, the chef got the message. Kinda odd, though - he seemed almost relieved to hear the order."  
  
Peach glanced at them slyly. "Maybe he's glad that at least one of you still has a normal appetite."  
  
"Hey! And just what is THAT supposed to mean?" Luigi protested playfully.  
  
Peach motioned toward his food. "Well, I mean............a salad for breakfast?? Couldn't you wait until lunchtime to eat something like that?"  
  
Luigi looked at his food, thought a moment, then looked back up at Peach.  
  
"Nope." He resumed eating. Peach sighed, then suddenly perked up.  
  
"Why, hello there Daisy!" She called, while waving to someone behind the Bros.  
  
Luigi suddenly choked so hard that Mario had to turn to pound him on the back, and Peach just blinked at them. "What? Was it something I said?" She asked bewilderedly. Then she burst out laughing, seeing Luigi's face.  
  
Luigi had turned beet red, blushing even harder than Mario had earlier. He cut off Peach's laughter abruptly by mumbling something about being full, standing up from the table, throwing down his napkin, and suddenly racing out of the room.  
  
Mario sat, stunned for a moment, before looking at Peach, and then getting up to follow his brother. "Hey! Bro! Wait up!" He could be heard calling as he exited through the dining room doors.  
  
Peach sat, slightly taken aback by Luigi's reaction. What had that been all about?  
  
Realization suddenly came to her in a flash.  
  
......oh Luigi, I'm so sorry......  
  
The waiter suddenly came to life. "Yes, sir! I'll go tell the chef right now, sir!" He cried out in a slightly panicky tone of voice before running as fast as possible back to the kitchen. As he ran through the kitchen doors, he brushed past Daisy, who was standing in front of them gazing in shock at the door Luigi had left through. She had seen everything.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Luigi! Hey, wait up, for Pete's sake!"  
  
Luigi ignored this request and continued to walk, stiff-legged, an angry expression on his face. He didn't know where he was going, but he didn't care.  
  
"Luigi!"  
  
The nerve of her! How could she make fun of him like that?  
  
"Hey, Weege!"  
  
How come he always got teased? How come he was always the one to get picked on?  
  
"LUIGI!"  
  
It's not like he asked to be the comic relief, was it? Heck, Mario never had to put up with anything like that!  
  
"FOR THE LOVE OF FUNGUS, SLOW DOWN ALREADY!!"  
  
Luigi finally acknowledged his brother's presence and stopped, turning around to face him.  
  
"What." He asked, his face a thundercloud.  
  
Mario cringed slightly at his brother's expression. Oy, this would be difficult.  
  
Mario stopped next to Luigi and spent a few seconds catching his breath. Then he paused, trying to decide the best way to phrase what he wanted to say. "Look Luigi," he burst out at last, "I know you're mad at Peach and all, but..."  
  
"Mad doesn't even begin to describe it!" Luigi cried out shrilly. "I'm furious! No, INCENSED!"  
  
"...but why?" Mario continued. "It was a joke. You and I both know that."  
  
"Peach has NO RIGHT to tease me about Daisy like that! I don't CARE if she's the heir of Mushroom Kingdom, I'll - "  
  
Mario interrupted him in mid-rant. "Wait a minute." He said with an arched eyebrow. "Why doesn't she have a right to joke about Daisy? You, me, and Peach joke about each other all the time, and Daisy's just the same as the rest of us."  
  
"No, she's NOT!" Luigi replied hotly. "She's nice, and smart, and kind, and witty, and beautiful......"  
  
He trailed off, noticing how Mario was looking at him knowingly. "What?"  
  
He never got to find out, because at that moment a deep, vibrant rumbling echoed throughout the castle, followed quickly by violent shaking which threw both brothers to the floor. Luigi yelled in surprise, but Mario didn't say anything, his startled expression suddenly changing to one of knowing dread.  
  
Another rumble shook the hallway, throwing doors open and spilling various objects out into the hallway. Luigi performed a Super Jump over a table on a collision course with him, and looked around for Mario. "Mario? Hey, where are you? Mario??"  
  
Luigi caught a glimpse of a brown boot rounding a corner in the hall back the way they had come. "Mario!" Luigi began to run after him. Where was he going?  
  
Luigi had rounded the corner in the hall and was almost to the Dining Room when a third, more powerful tremor rocked the floor, cracked the walls, and caused part of the ceiling to collapse.  
  
Luigi yelped and ducked to the ground as huge chunks of plaster and mortar smashed to the ground around him. He looked up and noticed a particularly large piece headed directly for his head. He gave out a high "Eek!" of surprise and rolled out of the way just in time. Scrambling to his feet, he stumbled back to the Dining Room as fast as the rocking floor would allow. "Mario! Princess! Wait!!"  
  
  
  
"What the heck is going on?!" Daisy burst out in confusion.  
  
It had taken a few moments for her and Peach to get over their shock. The abrupt departure of the Mario Bros. had somewhat taken them by surprise.  
  
"I...I think when I said hello to you just now....that Luigi thought I was teasing him." Peach replied slowly.  
  
Daisy cocked her head curiously and approached her cousin at the table. "Why would he think that about you? I thought you guys were friends."  
  
"We are. But...." Peach ducked her head in embarrassment, "I have this reputation for playing, um, jokes on them." She smiled sheepishly.  
  
Daisy grinned in dry amusement as she sat down across from Peach and leaned forward, propping her chin up on her hands. "You? My cousin? A practical joker? HA!" She laughed lightly. "Tell me, then. Why was Luigi so mad about that joke, if you've kidded with them so often?"  
  
Peach looked again at the doorway that the plumbers had left through. "......I don't know......"  
  
It was at that exact moment, while Peach was staring in puzzlement at the doorway and thinking of what reasons Luigi could have for his anger, while Daisy was looking at Peach with a smile and trying to imagine her pulling pranks on the Bros., and while the chef was walking calmly through the kitchen doors to announce that the food was finally ready, that all hell broke loose.  
  
The wall behind Peach exploded outward with a blast of forcibly expelled brick and mortar. Peach was thrown clear across the table and into Daisy by the force of the eruption, and Daisy, in turn, was thrown into the wall along with Peach by the resulting shockwave. Both princesses collapsed in a heap on the floor, the impact momentarily stunning them.  
  
The table itself went flying as another explosion happened right next to it, shattering it into a thousand sharp wood pieces and scattering them every which way. The shockwave blazed through the castle like a tidal wave of power and wind, completely destroying the interior Dining Room decorations while sending chairs, plates, and silverware flying all over the room. Through all the smoke and haze, figures could be seen emerging from the newly-made hole in the wall and converging on the area where the princesses lay. Peach groggily lifted up her head to look at the invaders. Some of them appeared short, brown and triangular, while the others were rather tall and round. They seemed oddly familiar....  
  
She jerked fully awake as she recognized them. Koopa Troopas! And Goombas!  
  
She screamed (more out of surprise than fear), and immediately picked up one of the closer Goombas to throw at the rest of the incoming baddies. The Goomba collided with a row of Koopas all marching single-file, knocking them down one after the other like dominoes. But the triumph was short- lived, as there were more of the turtles and mushrooms-turned-bad to replace the felled ones every second. Peach dropped to Daisy's side and frantically tried to revive her as the mutant plants and animals got closer.  
  
"Daisy! Get up! Come on, wake up!!" Peach cried, shaking her cousin by the shoulders and patting her gently on the face while casting furtive glances over her shoulder. "Get up, Daisy! They're almost here!"  
  
"Who's almost here?" Daisy asked faintly as her eyes fluttered open and she sat up, cradling her forehead in her hands. "Oh, my achin' everything...."  
  
"Daisy, get up!! The Koopa Troop is here!!" Peach yelled, panicking.  
  
Daisy's head snapped up to stare at Peach, her eyes wide. "What?"  
  
"GREETINGS, PRINCESSES!" A booming voice shouted over the deafening sound of marching feet.  
  
"I HOPE WE AREN"T INTERRUPTING ANYTHING BY PAYING YOU A LITTLE VISIT LIKE THIS!"  
  
Peach and Daisy stood up and scanned the room for the voice's source. "There!" Daisy shouted, pointing at a spot above the heads of the Koopa Army.  
  
Floating there in the air was a certain familiar Koopa Troopa wearing glasses, blue robes, and a pointed blue hat. He was riding a flying broomstick that was keeping him aloft, and he was clutching both the broomstick and an oddly-shaped magic wand in one hand while holding a megaphone up to his mouth with the other.  
  
"KAMEK!" Both princesses shouted in unison.  
  
The troops suddenly ceased their advancing to wait for their leader's order, standing in perfect row formation with their feet together, their backs straight, and their faces expressionless. Daisy shuddered. Creepy.  
  
The Koopa Wizard chuckled, and the noise floated out of the megaphone throughout the whole room. "YES, THAT'S RIGHT! IT IS I, THE ALL-POWERFUL, ALL-KNOWING, ALL-ENCOMPASSING..."  
  
"...All-Bigheaded..." Daisy murmured to Peach.  
  
"....KAMEK THE ALMIGHTY!!" The flying Koopa finished with a flourish.  
  
The Dining Room went dead silent for three seconds, during which the princesses slowly turned their heads to look at each other.  
  
Simultaneously they burst out laughing.  
  
"See this?" Daisy asked as she held up her hands in the shape of a square to frame her face. "This is me not caring. Twenty coins says we kick your scaly mutant butt within the hour."  
  
"'Kamek the Almighty'?" Peach sniggered. "Who came up with that load of crap, huh? Wait, don't tell me. The little voices in your head did, right?"  
  
Behind his spectacles, Kamek blinked. This wasn't the reaction he had been expecting at all.  
  
"Or better yet," Peach continued, "How about your mom? She probably would be lame enough to come up with something like that, since she raised _you_ and all."  
  
Kamek began to slowly get red in the face. Nobody had ever dared insult his parents before.  
  
Peach had never really been that good at insults. Unfortunately for Kamek, however, Daisy was there to back her up. "No, wait, I've got it." The brown- haired princess jutted in with a smile. "It was Barney the Dinosaur! He, Big Bird, and Mr. Rogers teamed up to put that one together for you!" Peach was rolling on the floor with laughter at that one, and Daisy grinned up at the furious Wizard Koopa. "I've just solved the mystery of your inspiration for you, Kamek old boy! You owe me a beer."  
  
Kamek roared in fury. That last one had snapped it all for him. "SHY SQUAD, ATTACK!!!" He bellowed.  
  
Daisy's grin faded and Peach leaped back to her feet. They looked at each other. Shy squad?  
  
What was that?  
  
They got their answer a moment later, as a large group of Flying Shy Guys and Parakoopas swooped down on them from above.  
  
Daisy yelled and rolled out of the way as one of the winged Koopa Troopas grabbed at her. Peach shrieked in surprise but quickly recovered, grabbing the legs of a passing Shy Guy and swinging it around in a wide circle to throw headlong into the ranks of the unmoving Koopa Army. The lines of Goombas and Koopas were still standing silently up ahead of her, but began moving again when the hapless Shy Guy came crashing into them. Peach had thrown the Shy Guy with such force that it managed to ram through the first three rows of turtles and Goombas before finally slowing and falling to the ground, completely unconscious.  
  
Kamek howled in frustration as the Princesses began applying Martial-Arts skills against the Shy Squad, beating them back with room to spare. "BOMB- OMBERS, ATTACK!"  
  
Peach looked up from slapping a Parakoopa senseless to see a fleet of Koopas floating on tiny clouds enter the room, float up to near the ceiling, and begin tossing Bomb-ombs (walking bombs with eyes) down at the scene below. "Daisy, look out!"  
  
Daisy looked straight up at the call and saw a Bomb-omb falling directly at her. "AAAHHH!" She screamed, jumping to the side as the Bomb-omb exploded where she had been a second before.  
  
Kamek yelled a war-cry, rallying his troops for battle. "CHARGE!!"  
  
This was the order the Goombas and Koopas had been waiting for. They surged forward as one sea of enemies, not caring that the last Bomb-omb explosion had damaged the walls and ceiling, which was in danger of collapsing. They didn't care that the Princesses were throwing enemies at them left and right, knocking several of their numbers down and out. They didn't care about anything, except accomplishing their goal. They echoed Kamek's battle cry, filling the room from wall to wall with their mass, blotting out any chance for escape. And they were headed straight for the Princesses.  
  
  
  
Luigi stumbled as the floor began shaking again, and just barely managed to dodge out of the way as a chandelier hanging overhead came loose from its supports and crashed to the floor. The entire structure was made of intricately carved crystal and glass, designed to catch, direct and amplify light given off by it into a kaleidoscope of shimmering colors. But the only thing about it that Luigi was concerned with at the moment was not being torn to shreds by its flying shrapnel.  
  
Luigi paused, panting for breath, and a little shaken after his close call. The chandelier had been directly above him when it fell. Had he not looked up at that moment, it would've...  
  
He decided not to think about it. He got to his feet and was about to resume his chase after Mario when he heard a distinctive, all-too-familiar high cackle emanate from an unseen source somewhere near him. He leaped away from the place where it seemed to be coming from, but he couldn't see anything there. Then another cackle echoed the first, this time somewhere to Luigi's right. He leaped away from that, too, back toward the hallway and away from the direction that Mario had gone.  
  
Luigi grimaced as he once again heard the sound of the laughter, this time in stereo from two different locations. An invisible source was making the noise. So, the only two things it could be are either something that has been somehow cloaked to be invisible, or ghosts. And considering how angry spirits are often employed by Bowser into the Koopa Troop, Luigi opted to believe the latter.  
  
Hmm...ghosts...  
  
......well, he could do something about that......  
  
Luigi immediately spun on his heel and raced back down the hallway toward his' and Mario's room, and away from the sinister cackling. He only hoped that he would be able to set his plan going in time.  
  
  
  
Mario knew, the very moment the first tremor hit. Somehow, he knew immediately what was going on. Far too long had he been subjected to this type of situation to not know when it was starting to happen again. He leaped to his feet after falling down when the third tremor rocked the castle's foundations and bolted back to the Dining Room, hoping he wasn't too late.  
  
He rounded the corner and the Dining Room came into view. Mario pulled up short, staring in shock.  
  
The place looked as if a tornado had hit it. Silverware, pieces of dishes, and broken glass littered the floor everywhere. Tiny piles of food were thrown in for a little variety, along with the occasional piece from the walls. An enormous hole in the right wall stretched from where the wall met the floor to encompass a part of the ceiling. Mario could see the second floor above through it. The grand oaken table that had been placed directly in the middle of the room was nowhere to be seen, but Mario got an idea of what had happened to it as he noticed wood pieces intermingled with the rest of the debris. Cracked, broken chairs were piled haphazardly in corners where the shockwaves had dumped them. And everywhere, there were Koopa soldiers. He'd arrived in time to catch a glimpse of several Shy Guys, Koopa Troopas, Goombas, and Bomb-ombs converge upon Princess Peach and Princess Daisy. The cousins were fighting rather well, knocking down enemies left and right, helping each other take down what they alone couldn't handle. But more troops were arriving through the huge hole, and soon the Princesses would be overwhelmed.  
  
Without pausing for a second, Mario immediately leapt into action. Literally. He jumped high into the air, coming down directly on top of a Goomba and flattening it into a pancake. The impact bounced him back up into the air, and he aimed for another enemy. He repeated this process on a series of closely-batched Koopa Troops until he finally landed on the ground to rest. He looked up.  
  
A line of Boos was entering the room through the hole and floating toward the large group of enemies at the room's other end, where Mario realized the Princesses must be. Mario bit back a curse. Boos were the only enemy that he couldn't defeat by normal methods, as they'd turn invisible at the slightest hint of hostility. Crap......Now what was he going to do?  
  
He got his answer a second later, as there suddenly came a shout from the Dining Room entrance. "HEY, BOOS!"  
  
The ghosts suddenly stopped and turned to see whom was addressing them.  
  
Luigi stood framed in the doorway, fury written all over his face, and an enormous vacuum cleaner strapped onto his back. He was holding the nozzle in both hands like a sword, and aiming it directly at the line of Boos.  
  
"YOU SUCK!" He finished, flicking the vacuum's switch to 'on'. The vacuum began to draw in air rapidly, pulling the ghosts toward it.  
  
Comprehension dawned on Mario's face. Luigi was using the Poltergust 2000 he had received after their last adventure in a haunted mansion. It was a special ghost-capturing device that trapped ghosts in the dustbag, and he was now using it to get rid of the Boos. He cheered Luigi on as Boo after Boo began getting pulled into the vacuum, and he resumed attacking with renewed vigor.  
  
  
  
"C'mon, Daisy!" Peach yelled as she tossed a Bomb-omb at a swarm of enemies, blowing them all to Kingdom Come. "Let's kick some Koopa!!"  
  
"Way ahead of you, girl!" Daisy replied while doing a few Judo kicks at some enemies, knocking them out. "These guys are going down! Hai-yah!"  
  
The tide of battle might have turned to the Princesses' favor, if a Parakoopa hadn't swooped down and snatched up Peach without warning.  
  
"Huh?! Eeek! Help!" She managed to yell before the winged Koopa Troopa clamped a hand over her mouth and silenced her.  
  
Daisy looked up at Peach's call. "What the - ? Oh, crap! PEACH!" She ran underneath the flying Koopa, yelling curses and ordering it to give Peach back.  
  
While Daisy was momentarily distracted, a large group of Shy Guys suddenly leapt onto her. She didn't even get the chance to cry out, as they pretty much buried her under their weight almost immediately. After they had gotten a grip on her, they got off and hauled her to her feet. She came up fighting, kicking and struggling for all she was worth, but her efforts were pretty much wasted as there were so many of them. Finally, she chose to bite the hand that had been muffling her shouts and screamed out at the top of her lungs,  
  
"LUIGI, HELP!!!"  
  
  
  
The plumber in question had just been finishing off the last of the Boos when he heard his name be called. Well, more like screamed. Suddenly alarmed, he began to race over to where he had heard the cry come from, then stopped and took off the Poltergust 2000, as it was slowing him down with its weight. He resumed running toward the source of the noise at a much faster pace. In the process, he collided with Mario, whom had heard the same call and come running. Both Bros. tumbled to the ground in a heap, and were instantly beset by dozens of enemies.  
  
Luigi yelled in surprise and began lashing out in all directions at once, eyes closed tight in fright. Mario threw the enemies off him in a surge of strength and caught Luigi's flailing fists. "Luigi! Come on! They've got Peach and Daisy!"  
  
At Daisy's name Luigi's eyes went wide. He suddenly leaped up and dashed toward the area where the Princesses were, yelling at the Koopas every name he could think of and smacking across the room those who dared to get in his way. Shaking his head at his brother's tactics, Mario followed.  
  
Kamek floated near Daisy's face and grinned wickedly. "You, my dear," He spoke without the megaphone, "are going to pay very dearly for that little remark earlier." After a moment of thought and a sinister grin, he added, "You also owe me twenty coins." He pointed his magic wand at Daisy and chanted something under his breath. In a rush of shining sparkles, she disappeared. In the background, Luigi gave an outraged cry that Kamek ignored. Then Kamek turned to Peach. "And now you shall join her." He cackled. He performed the same spell on her, instantly teleporting her away in the blink of an eye. Down below, Mario yelled in outright anger.  
  
Kamek finally noticed the Mario Brothers and laughed. He whipped out his megaphone again and spoke.  
  
"HELLO DOWN THERE! HOW'S LIFE?"  
  
Mario and Luigi didn't reply save for the stream of obscenities they were now firing at him. Kamek grinned.  
  
"Y'KNOW, JUDGING FROM YOUR CURRENT TONES OF VOICE, ONE WOULD THINK YOU'VE GOT SOME PENT-UP HOSTILITY AIMED TOWARDS ME."  
  
"Shut the $&%* up, you #@%$&!!!" Luigi screamed at Kamek, who roared with laughter.  
  
"Give them BACK, Kamek!!" Mario added.  
  
Kamek gave the Bros. a mock-pout. "AW, BUT I WAS GONNA PLAY 'MONOPOLY' WITH 'EM! IT'S REALLY BORING PLAYING BY YOURSELF, YA KNOW......"  
  
Kamek dodged the Super Jump that Luigi had aimed for him.  
  
"HEH. ALL RIGHT, NO NEED TO GET FIDGETY. IF YOU WANT THEM, YOU'LL HAVE TO COME AND GET 'EM!" And with that, the MagiKoopa conjured up a glowing blue portal behind himself and soared through it. Luigi immediately jumped after him, with Mario in close pursuit. Mario grabbed hold of his brother's boot as they soared through the portal. "Luigi, wait! It could be a tra--"  
  
His sentence was cut off as they entered the portal.  
  
Then everything went white...... 


	3. Chapter Two: Lost and Found

The Crossover Saga  
  
By Stoney (stoney107@yahoo.com)  
  
  
  
Chapter Two  
  
Lost and Found  
  
  
  
  
  
Hyrule Field, 4:18 PM.  
  
  
  
It was a beautiful day. 81 degrees, gorgeous, sunny weather. The sky was a clear forget-me-not blue, with a few small, wispy cirrus clouds for variety.  
  
A light breeze swept over the sloping plains, rustling the short, thick grass and causing the occasional shrub to shiver. The sun shone down brightly, illuminating every nook and cranny of the plain, leaving the shadows nowhere to hide.  
  
Yes, it was a good day. But there was something that it was lacking.  
  
Music.  
  
That's where he came in. His ocarina, as simple an instrument as it may have looked from the outside, was actually quite a beautiful musical device. He had been proficient at playing it even when he had first started learning, so by now he was way far above and beyond an expert at it. He had always enjoyed how the instrument's tones adapted to the mood of any situation; soft and soothing, fast and upbeat, sad and mournful, or bright and cheery, just to name a few. Right now he had chosen a more relaxing song to play, since weather like this was perfect for catching up on a little rest.  
  
The echoing notes seemed to linger in the air a second or two after they stopped, their varied tones perfectly in tune with each other and as a whole. The melody flowed gracefully along, never once hitting a wrong note or missing a beat. Each sound just seemed to fit with all the others, like the tune had been predetermined before he even started playing that day. He sat on a rock in the middle of Hyrule Field, playing whatever happened to come to mind, not thinking about much in particular except how much he enjoyed this and how he should start doing concerts or something so more people could appreciate his music. His horse Epona grazed nearby, coming up to nuzzle him affectionately every now and then. He stroked her lovingly on the neck in reply. He really liked Epona; she was his #1 Best Animal Friend at times. Although there were those frogs on the Zora River, the ones who liked his music a lot. And that owl who talked to him. What was his name?-- oh yeah, Kaepora Gaebora. Yeah, they were nice, too. But Epona was different. She was special.  
  
He had rescued her from captivity seven years in the future, then came back in time to find that she had grown to like him, but was still in captivity. For some reason, he wanted Epona to be free again, in the past. At first he thought of buying her off, but then realized he didn't have nearly enough money to do so. Her owner then suggested that he could have the horse in return for doing manual labor for a few months on his farm. He had agreed, and now Epona was free. Looking at the horse, he knew that all the hours of backbreaking work he endured as he strained to do jobs that normally he might have been unable to do, but did anyway, were all worth it. He had gained Epona's friendship, and that was far more priceless than any labor could ever amount to.  
  
Epona brayed, wanting to run around a bit. He smiled and untied his horse from where he had anchored her next to him, knowing that she'd always be able to find him no matter where he was if he needed her help. Epona reared up on her hind legs, her way of saying thanks, and ran off as only a horse could. He grinned, then got up off his rock and lay face up on the grass. He gazed up at the clear blue sky, with his hands clasped behind his head and his mind wandering. A gentle gust of wind played with a lock of his hair and tickled his face. He sighed contentedly.  
  
Yes, it was a good day. And now that he had his music, the day was truly perfect.  
  
He began to doze for a bit, the rhythm of the wind rustling the grass and the faint wisps of cloud rolling by overhead making him sleepy. He woke up with a start, though, when he heard a humming sound nearby and felt a tiny tingling on the back of his neck, which indicated that he was in the presence of powerful magic. He cautiously opened one eye to look in the direction of the noise, just as it abruptly cut off. Then he heard sounds that were radically different from the previous noise. He strained his hearing, trying to make them out. It sounded more like people yelling than a magical spell taking effect.  
  
"Ow! Hey, get your hand out of my eye!"  
  
"Oof! Then stop squishing my face with your shoe!"  
  
This bickering continued for a unknown amount of time, during which he closed his eye and just pretended he was still asleep. The voices did not sound native; they must have belonged to foreigners. Each voice had a strange accent faintly attached to it that he couldn't identify. Who were these people?  
  
Then the argument abruptly cut off as one of the voices said, "Hey! There's someone over there!" He tensed. Did they know he was awake? Should he get up and greet them? Where they friendly?  
  
A span of silence. Then-  
  
"Gee, Mario, he looks just like you! Except with blond hair. And really long, pointy ears. And a weird green outfit." A pause. "Actually, I don't think he looks much like you after all."  
  
He could practically see the other's annoyed expression. "Luigi, would you please just shut up? Where are we? Where's Kamek?"  
  
Luigi, Mario, Kamek? These names were all unfamiliar to him. Definitely foreigners. But how had they gotten here?  
  
"I dunno, but I'd bet he's around here somewhere......." The voices began to fade as their counterparts walked away. He decided that now would be a good time to try and see these strange newcomers.  
  
Unconsciously he unsheathed his sword and unbuckled his shield. If these people presented a threat, he wanted to be ready for them. When he opened his eyes and rolled over to look at the strangers, he received quite a shock. They were unlike any creatures that he had ever seen. Which said a lot, considering how many kinds of creatures he had seen.  
  
They were short, like Kokiri. But all the Kokiri were children......these beings looked like a bizarre version of the average Hyrulian shrunk down to around his size. And their ears, how weird could they get? They weren't pointy! And they were so short! How could these beings hear anything out of ears that small?  
  
But that wasn't all. One of them turned around, showing him its face. Whoa! Talk about strange! Its nose was big and round, a little larger and redder than it was supposed to be probably because, he guessed, it was bruised or swollen or something. This person had a really bushy black moustache that curled up slightly on either side of its nose, and it was wearing some sort of strange hat that casted its eyes into deep shadow.  
  
He inched closer to the duo on his stomach, trying to get a better view of these strange newcomers. As he did so, his foot caught on the roots of a bush that was growing nearby. He tugged at the obstacle, and accidentally uprooted the whole plant in a shower of rocks and soil.  
  
The moustached man that was facing him looked in his direction. Uh-oh.  
  
"Hey, Luigi. That kid's awake!"  
  
The other being suddenly spun around at the call. "Huh? What?"  
  
The shorter, plumper person's clothing consisted of a red shirt under what looked like blue farming overalls with suspenders. It (he?) had white gloves covering its hands and wore brown shoes with no laces that resembled work boots. The taller, thinner guy (what did the red one call him? Luigi?) had a green shirt on underneath similar overalls of the same color, and it also wore white gloves and work boots. As the green-clothed one named Luigi turned around, another black moustache and bulbous nose, this one not swollen, became visible.  
  
No sense hiding now. He stood up, making sure that his sword was plainly visible to the strangers. Hopefully they'd have a shred of common sense and would not attack him while he was armed.  
  
"Who are you?" The red-clothed one asked immediately, suspicion evident in its (or his) voice. He guessed that these strangers hadn't ever seen anyone like him either, considering the way they stared at him with great interest.  
  
He looked at them curiously. Should he tell them his real name? They didn't seem like the hostile type. But you never can tell about people until you really get to know them, a lesson he knew all too well.  
  
"My name's Link." He finally replied. "Who are you two, and how did you get here? You're definitely not from around here, I know that."  
  
The red one pointed a thumb at his chest. "My name's Mario. This guy here is my brother, Luigi." He added, indicating the thin green-shirted man next to him. "As for how we got here, well, I don't really know. We were following someone who had kidnapped a couple friends of ours, and suddenly ZAP! We're here." He cocked his head at Link quizzically. "You look kinda strange for a human. Where is 'here', anyway?"  
  
Link smiled and put his sword and shield away. These two, he realized, had arrived here accidentally and were probably harmless. He was not unfamiliar with people being transported vast distances by powerful wizards and the like, so he immediately believed their story.  
  
"Actually, I'm not human." Link replied. "I'm Hylian. Humans don't live around these parts much anymore. The only differences between us Hylians and humans are that we have longer ears and are capable of using various magicks that humans can't. Everyone around here looks like me, although most of them are a lot taller 'cause I'm just a kid. I've seen what a human looks like. Really, compared to you, I don't seem that strange."  
  
Mario and Luigi didn't know whether to take offense at this or not.  
  
"As for where you are," Link continued with a mischievous glint in his eye, "this is the place that talking trees, giant spiders, and dancing scarecrows call 'home'. It is the kingdom of Hyrule, where deadly traps comprise dungeons, monsters run rampant, and sorcerers aspire to world domination. " He smiled casually at their unnerved expressions.  
  
The one named Luigi gulped audibly. "Gee, sounds like fun."  
  
Link grinned. "Yeah, well, it's really a pretty nice place, actually. Just as long as you don't wander out of the towns after dark. Nighttime is usually when the bulk of the monsters come out to pay hapless travelers a visit."  
  
Link paused. "You're pretty lucky you found me, actually." he added after some thought. "I'm a pretty good fighter, and I know my way around this place like the back of my sword." He turned and pointed in a direction away from where the Mario Bros. had been walking. "Over there you'll find Kakariko Village. I suggest you stay there until you figure out a way back home, unless of course you wanna pick a fight with monsters." Link grinned sinisterly, and the Mario Bros. didn't doubt for a second that he had done just that several times before.  
  
"Uh...I think we'd better be on the safe side and go to the town." Mario replied quickly.  
  
Link shrugged. "Okay. It's about a day's walk from here, but since it's already past noon, I doubt we'll make it before sunset."  
  
Mario hesitated. "Is there anyplace closer that we could stay at, just for tonight at least?"  
  
Link thought for a moment. "Well, there's Lon Lon Ranch......it's a farm set up a couple miles from here, but I'll have to check with the owner to see if they might have room for you guys."  
  
Luigi nodded. "We'll take our chances. Which way is this ranch?"  
  
"I'll take you there. C'mon." Link turned and began walking, Mario and Luigi hurrying to catch up.  
  
"So, you guys said that someone kidnapped a friend of yours?" Link asked conversationally once the Bros. were walking alongside him.  
  
Mario grimaced. "A wizard named Kamek kidnapped both the princess of the kingdom we live in and another princess of a neighboring kingdom. Then he ran away when we began chasing him."  
  
Luigi piped up. "He went through this weird blue portal that he had conjured up. We went in after him and found ourselves here."  
  
Link was silent until the Bros. finished, staring at his shoes and thinking about what they were saying. "Gosh, that sounds familiar." He spoke at last. "We've got a really bad sorcerer here, too, except his name is Ganon, or Ganondorf. His pastimes include creating monsters to send after me and make my life difficult, and kidnapping Princess Zelda, the next in line to rule this kingdom." He looked up at the Bros. "What's this Kamek look like?"  
  
Mario shook his head. "He's not even human. Or Hylian, for that matter."  
  
"Neither's Ganon."  
  
Mario shrugged. "Kamek is a Koopa, dressed in blue robes with a pointed blue hat, a broomstick, and a magic wand he uses to cast spells. You haven't seen him around here, have you?"  
  
Link furrowed his brow in confusion. "......Koopa?......"  
  
"Oh, you've never met a Koopa before?" Link shook his head. "Well, they're turtles, really. They're about our height, with shells on their backs, shoes on their feet, and sometimes wings attached to their shoulders."  
  
Link smiled in amusement, trying to imagine a creature as ridiculous- looking as what Mario was describing. "Winged turtles?"  
  
Luigi nodded. "Yeah, the winged ones are called Parakoopas, and they can fly, of course."  
  
Link's smile grew wider. "Of course." He shook his head. "Unfortunately, I haven't seen anything like that around here, I'm afraid. This...Koopa, as you call him...he probably lured you into the portal to trap you over here."  
  
Luigi nodded. The same thought had occurred to him, but he'd chosen not to voice it.  
  
Link looked grim. "This is bad. If this sorcerer is as powerful as I think he is in order to get you guys all the way over here, he might try to do what Ganon could not and invade Hyrule to conquer it." He stopped walking and stood in front of the Bros., staring them directly in the eyes. "I give you my word that I will do everything possible to get you back home, help you rescue your friends and defeat this fiend. He is too dangerous for us to let him remain loose, and if he presents a possible threat to my Kingdom, I shall have to defend it by going with you."  
  
Mario and Luigi sputtered in surprise at this sudden show of determination. Finally Luigi found his voice. "Look, we appreciate the offer and everything, but...um...I thought you said you were just a kid. Couldn't we use this kingdom's army or something?"  
  
Link smiled knowingly. "I am the army."  
  
The Mario Bros. looked at each other, then stared at Link uncomprehendingly.  
  
Link sighed and continued. "I'm not just any kid." He explained. "I'm the legendary Hero of Time, the sworn protector of Hyrule and champion of the Triforce." He began to tick off his achievements on his fingers. "I've defended a band of forest-dwellers from extinction, prevented a race of rock-people from starvation, rescued Princess Zelda from Ganon's clutches twice, traversed an active volcano to defeat a fire dragon, refilled an entire lake overnight, traveled seven years into the future and back again, entered the digestive system of a giant fish to cure it of a disease, become a member of a group of highly skilled all-female warriors (I was the only male one), saved seven Sages of magical power from Ganon's best men, and broke the record for landing the largest fish twice." He glanced down at his feet and kicked the dirt a little. "I've gone on more adventures than you'd probably care to know about. Believe me, I've got a lot of experience."  
  
The Mario Brothers were stunned to silence by this, Mario's ego beginning to lash out in its death throes as he tried to take in all that this little boy had done by himself. Not wanting to be put up by the Hylian, Mario finally regained his voice. "That's pretty good." He admitted. "But we've also got a lot of experience in adventuring ourselves. Me and my bro here," at this point Mario got Luigi into a playful headlock which Luigi quickly struggled to free himself from, "have saved two different kingdoms on separate occasions, prevented a race of cloud-people from being conquered by a power-hungry dictator, rescued Princess Peach from being held as a P.O.W. over six times, traversed several unfinished construction towers to capture a renegade gorilla, cleared an entire haunted mansion of ghosts overnight, thrown out a giant frog by throwing vegetables at him, rescued five kings from being permanently turned into animals by magic wands, miraculously cured mushroomkind from a fatal disease, been inducted into a group of high-appetite dinosaurs, saved one hundred-and-fifty stars of Power from the Koopa Army's best men, and broken every record in golf, tennis and kart racing."  
  
Link was impressed. "Whoa! That's awesome! Between us, Kamek won't have a chance!" He exclaimed excitedly.  
  
Mario nodded and sighed in relief, his ego now repaired as Link gained new respect for him. They began walking again. Luigi finally released himself from Mario's hold, giving his brother a mock-glare of anger and shoving him slightly in retaliation. Mario poked him in the back of the head in return, and Link managed to interrupt the exchange from breaking out into a full- fledged fistfight by speaking up. "Tell me....does this kingdom you guys live in have any inhabitants? Besides the Koopas, I mean."  
  
Mario shook his head. "The Koopas aren't native to the kingdom. They're kinda like the monsters you have here. Our archenemy, a really big Koopa named Bowser, sends them after us for kicks."  
  
Link nodded. "Ah, I see. You still haven't answered my question, though."  
  
"Well," Luigi began, "the kingdom is called the Mushroom Kingdom for starters, and yes, it is inhabited. The creatures that live there are kinda like big mushrooms with arms and legs and faces. They're called Toads, short for Toadstools. They're generally a peaceful and friendly species, but they can hold their own in a fight if threatened. Otherwise, they're very nice, er, plants."  
  
Link's smile had turned into a grin. Flying turtles and walking, talking mushrooms. Man, Malon was gonna get a kick out of this....  
  
Link didn't even realize he'd spoken aloud until Mario asked, "Who's Malon?"  
  
Link looked up from his thinking. "Huh? Oh, she's a friend of mine who works at the ranch. Nice girl. Her father, Talon, runs the place."  
  
Mario chuckled. "Malon and Talon, huh? Is that why they call it Lon Lon Ranch?"  
  
Link didn't answer.  
  
"Link?"  
  
"Ssh, listen!" Link ordered. He was standing stock-still while staring straight ahead, muscles tensed, a look of concentration on his face.  
  
Mario blinked, and turned to Luigi, who shrugged.  
  
"We don't hear anything."  
  
Link slowly drew his sword and shield. "I do. I think we're about to be paid a visit by some Peahats."  
  
Mario blinked again. "Peahats?" What was that? Some sort of garment you put on your head like a cap?  
  
"Get down!" Link whispered fervently as he pulled Mario down to the grass. Luigi followed. "Peahats are monsters that roam Hyrule Field by daytime instead of night." Link explained quickly. "They're big, slightly reddish, with long, sharp blades on their bottoms that they spin around in order to fly." He looked up as, off in the distance, something detached from the ground and rose into the air. "If one of them detects you near it, it will start flying and try to slash at you with its blades." The object in the distance began to get closer. Three tiny dots detached from the main object. "Peahat spawn." Link recognized them. "They're used as scouts, mainly. Tells the adult what kind of fight to expect." As the dots got closer, Mario realized they were miniature versions of the larger object still heading toward them. Link growled slightly. "They're fast, too."  
  
"Okay you two, listen up." Link turned back to the Bros. "This thing is basically just taking its time getting here. At full speed it's way too fast for all of us to outrun. So, we'll have to fight it off. You two stay here; I don't want you getting hurt."  
  
Before Mario or Luigi could protest that they were pretty good fighters and could hold their own in battle, Link got back to his feet. Mario began to follow suit, but Link motioned for him to stay put. "This'll only take a minute." He assured them with a confident grin. Then he ran off, toward the approaching objects.  
  
Mario gritted his teeth. "What does he think he's doing? He'll get killed!" He hissed at Luigi.  
  
Luigi shrugged. "He looks like he's got a lot of experience with battle." He replied. "I think he has an idea."  
  
Indeed, Link was formulating a plan as he ran. Let's see, he could try his boomerang on it. No, wait, the monster would simply reflect it off its blades. Hmm. Bombs? Nah, he couldn't throw them high enough to hit the thing. Uh, how about a magic spell? Din's Fire might work, but it was only useful at close range......  
  
The spawn began to approach him, very close now. Link stopped running, crouched down, and began to charge up his sword with magical energy, holding it straight out behind himself as it accumulated bright blue light into its blade. The spawn got even closer, and suddenly the energy in the sword changed from blue to red. Link grinned. Just a little closer......  
  
When the spawn were nearly upon him, he stood up and released the stored energy, spinning in a circle with his sword held outward and lashing out with the magic in a fiery red spin. The red-orange magic surrounded the sword and left a faint, reddish, glowing trail through the air in its wake. The spawn gave a sudden, anguished squeal as they were ripped apart by the attack, and then were silenced as they vaporized into smoke. They left no blood, no intestines or any other such gruesome reminders of their deaths on the ground afterwards. Just POOF!, and they were gone.  
  
Luigi realized he'd been holding his breath the entire time this happened and let it out in a long whoosh of air.  
  
"Wow." He breathed.  
  
Link's momentum finally slowed to the point where he could stop spinning around in circles. He held an arm out for balance, slightly dizzy. Hate it when that happens. He stumbled around for a second or two before his vision corrected itself. He shook his head, clearing the last of the cobwebs away. Then he gave the Mario Bros. another confident grin.  
  
The adult Peahat, meanwhile, had grown closer and closer. As it neared Link, Mario and Luigi got an idea of just how large it really was. It was huge, probably the size of a small house. Even Link was slightly surprised by its size, though he quickly got over it. The Peahat was colored a rusty red with yellow and orange splotches here and there on its surface. Six long, serrated blades of metal were attached to the bottom somehow by exposed muscle and sinew. They were rapidly spinning around to produce lift, similar to a helicopter. As it neared Link, it tilted so that the blades would slice into him. But Link wasn't finished with it yet.  
  
As the Peahat approached, Link closed his eyes and began chanting something that the Mario Bros. couldn't hear. He crouched down, swinging his arms in a wide circle, chanting the whole time. He clasped his hands together and drew them toward his chest, and bright red energy began to collect around his right hand. He continued to chant, and the energy grew brighter, until it almost hurt your vision to look at it. Finally Link opened his eyes, swung both arms over his head, and slammed his glowing fist into the ground, yelling out as he did so.  
  
"DIN'S FIRE!!"  
  
What happened next was unlike anything Mario or Luigi had ever seen. A circle of red-orange flames erupted from the ground around Link and shot 30 to 40 feet into the air, where it formed the shape of a dome covering the area. It hung there, radiating heat and light, even though there was no wood or anything nearby for it to fuel upon. It began to expand outward rapidly in an ever-increasing area, maintaining its shape as a perfectly round dome of flame the entire time. The approaching Peahat sensed the spell and tried to back away, but by then it was too late. Fire engulfed the creature, causing it to emit a pitiful wail of agony before dissolving entirely into a faint cloud of purplish smoke.  
  
Then the circle of fire faded and vanished as Link lifted his hand off the ground, panting slightly from the exertion of using the spell. Mario realized his mouth was open and quickly closed it.  
  
"Whoa." he muttered in awe. "Remind me to never make him mad."  
  
Luigi was too dumbfounded to reply.  
  
A grin had made its way subconsciously onto Link's face as he had ended the spell, and now it was readily apparent as he jogged back over to where the Mario Bros. were still staring at him in amazement.  
  
"What?" He asked, slightly out of breath. "It's not like......you've never seen......a magic spell......before, is it?"  
  
"Yep."  
  
"......oh."  
  
Mario and Luigi got back to their feet, since the threat was obviously gone. They were both still staring at Link in a strange way, though, as they resumed walking toward Lon Lon Ranch. Eventually Link called it to attention. "What is it?" He asked, after finally having gotten his breath back.  
  
"Where did you learn to do that?" Mario asked suddenly. Link looked at Luigi, who nodded. He had been wondering the same thing.  
  
"Well," Link thought while slowly stretching his arms, "the Great Fairy of Power taught it to me. She lives at the peak of an inactive volcano called Death Mountain, and..."  
  
"Wait a minute!" Luigi interrupted. "What's a fairy?"  
  
Link's eyes went wide. "You don't even know?!" He asked incredulously.  
  
Both brothers shook their heads. They had never heard the term used before in their lives.  
  
"Wow. You guys really are foreigners, aren't you? I mean, I can understand how you look different, but to not even know about fairies...!"  
  
"So what are they?" Mario asked impatiently.  
  
"They're like......little people. They look like normal people, but they only grow to about six inches in height. They have wings attached to their backs, and can fly.......and most of them usually have some sort of special magical powers unique to that fairy."  
  
"Such as?" Luigi prompted.  
  
Link shrugged. "Depends on the fairy. Some can heal wounds, others can cast some useful spells, and a few have miscellaneous abilities such as shape- shifting or telepathy. Not too long ago I had a fairy named Navi. She could tell me enemy weaknesses during battle, along with other useful information." He paused for a second. "Man, I miss her." He sighed. He went quiet at this point and looked down at his shoes, absorbed in his thoughts. Mario traded a sideward glance with his brother. Both knew that a sensitive topic had been breached.  
  
"I'm sorry, we didn't mean to..." Mario began, but Link waved the statement off.  
  
"It's okay. I've just been kinda lonely since she went back to her home, is all."  
  
The Bros. nodded understandably. They'd once had a dinosaur friend named Yoshi who had helped hem on a couple of their adventures. But the dino had since chosen to go back to his home on Yoshi's Island rather than stay in the Mushroom Kingdom. They had oftentimes found themselves missing the little green dinosaur and his ravenous appetite.  
  
Link took a deep breath and returned his attention to their journey. He had noticed something growing larger on the horizon all this time as they approached it. Mario recognized it as a man-made stone wall, and was the first to point this out to the others.  
  
Link nodded. "Yep, that's the wall encircling Lon Lon Ranch." He agreed, confirming Mario's suspicions.  
  
The three lapsed into silence at that. The grass around them was slowly giving way to barren dirt and rock as they neared the wall. By now the perimeter of the wall appeared to be that of a couple large football stadiums put together, and it was too tall for them to see over. They approached it and stood at it's base, feeling slightly chilly inside the long shadow it cast over them.  
  
Mario gave it a once-over. The wall had been built using an old-fashioned Hyrulian construction technique, but Mario didn't know this. However, he was rather startled to notice its similarity to the walls inside Bowser's Keep. The only difference was that Bowser used precut stone blocks to build his fortress, whereas this wall appeared to be made of natural rocks somehow stuck together. He checked along the wall for a distance, but couldn't find any noticeable opening or anything to enter the ranch through. Finally he turned to their Hylian escort.  
  
"So, how do we get in?" He asked Link. Both Link and Luigi had been resting from their long walk, with Luigi studying the wall like Mario was and Link gazing at it reminiscently, recalling how he had - or would - free Epona by having her jump over it in seven years' time. Mario wasn't exactly thrilled to hear his answer.  
  
"We can't. At least, not from this side. There's an entrance at the other end, so we'll have to circle around. C'mon."  
  
Mario looked nervously at the sky. The sun was already close to setting. What if they didn't make it around the ranch in time? It seemed awfully big...  
  
"What is it, Mario?" Link asked, noticing his hesitation.  
  
"Isn't there a quicker route inside?" He blurted out at last, glancing back at the sun's position anxiously.  
  
Link shook his head. "Nope. There's only one entrance and one exit to the ranch, and the wall blocks off everything else. If we hurry though, I think we can make it. So come on!" Link began to run around the perimeter of the stone wall, leaving the Mario Bros. to scramble after him to catch up.  
  
Link looked up at the sky. They'd made worse time than he had realized...their little encounter with the Peahats must've taken longer than he'd thought. Crap.  
  
His breath began coming in gasps. He had never noticed just how big the ranch was before, and now the entrance seemed miles away. They'd never make it in time. He looked up at the wall. If only there was some way over it....  
  
Wait a minute! He could see the rooftops of the buildings inside the ranch over the top of the wall. That gave him an idea.  
  
Link suddenly stopped running. The Bros. noticed and skidded to a halt next to him. "What is it?"  
  
Link turned to face them, a smile slowly dawning on his face as he worked out his plan. It might work...  
  
"Guys, I think I know a quicker route into the ranch." The Mario Bros. visually perked up at this. Link began digging around inside a pouch he carried strapped to his waist. Then Mario realized something.  
  
He looked at the wall again. Wait a second....  
  
"Hold it, Link." Mario interrupted him as he was pulling an odd-looking device out of his pocket. Link stopped, looking at Mario questionably. Mario turned to his brother. "Hey, Weege! How high do you think that wall is?"  
  
Luigi began to catch on to Mario's plan, sizing up the stone structure. "I'd say around ten feet, Mario. D'you think we could make it?"  
  
"It's worth a shot." He replied. Mario then turned to Link, who was looking at them both in confusion.  
  
"It's okay, Link. I think we could jump this wall."  
  
Link looked puzzled for a second, then his expression turned to one of understanding. "You mean with a horse, don't you? The only horse I've got is Epona, and she wouldn't be able to carry all three of us..."  
  
"No, I mean on foot."  
  
Link stared at Mario as if the plumber had just claimed to be a boiled egg. "What?"  
  
"Just watch." Mario replied. He walked up to the very base of the wall with Luigi. They looked at each other. "Ready?"  
  
"Yep."  
  
"Okay, here-a we go!"  
  
The next event stunned Link to the point of staring at them slack-jawed, much like Mario had been earlier when he had performed Din's Fire. As one, the Mario Bros. did a Super Jump clear over the wall with room to spare, landing neatly on the other side without a sound. The Bros. high-fived each other, then called back over the wall to see about their comrade. "Hey Link! You okay over there?"  
  
The reply was slow in coming, and Mario almost began worrying that a monster had gotten the Hylian. But then Link's voice floated over to their ears, disbelief etched within it.  
  
"How...did...you...DO THAT?!?" Link yelled, mostly in excitement, but also partially in amazement and shock. The Bros. heard the clink-clink of a chain extending, but failed to notice as a spear attached to the end of the noisy chain rammed into the roof of one of the houses and embedded itself in the wood. They also failed to notice when the chain retracted, pulling Link up to the roof. The Bros., thinking Link was still outside the wall, recieved quite a shock when he jumped down to the ground to greet them.  
  
"What the -- ? Huh? How?" Mario sputtered, trying to calm down his racing heartbeat.  
  
Link held up the instrument he had used to get to the roof. "This is my Hookshot. It has a spring-loaded chain with a spear on the end for latching onto stuff. When the chain is attached to something, I can make it retract, pulling me up to what ever it's latched to. It's also got a ruby laser light so I can aim it properly."  
  
He held the device out to the brothers for them to examine, and Mario took it gently into his hands, afraid a rough movement would break it. It was cylindrical, with the spear nestled neatly inside a small cubbyhole at the top and the chain wrapped tightly around the cylinder's middle. At its bottom there was a handle for holding onto the device while being pulled to new heights by it. "Ingenious." Luigi, who loved machines, muttered while closely scrutinizing its design and marvelling at it. "Whoever invented and built this must have been years ahead of his time. Where did you get it?" This last was directed at Link.  
  
Link shrugged, accepting the instrument back from the brothers and placing it back in his sack. "I found it. I don't know who made it, but I agree - he could've become rich selling these things." Link then turned to the two slightly cartoonish humans before him and narrowed his eyes slightly. "Now, how the heck could you jump that wall like that?!"  
  
Mario grinned, and Luigi followed suit. "It's kind of a long story."  
  
"I don't care, I want to hear it."  
  
Mario shrugged. "Alright, but you asked for it." He turned to Luigi, who began explaining.  
  
"I think it all started way back when we were kids. We used to live in a house that was next to a huge national forest, so we'd often go exploring in it and climb trees by jumping from branch to branch. We eventually found out that a small mountain was somewhere inside the forest and chose to start climbing it instead. We did this constantly, since we lived way out in the middle of nowhere and there really wasn't much else to do.  
  
"After growing up doing nothing but jumping and climbing, we became pretty good at it and found ourselves easily able to exceed our own heights in a single jump. During high school, we were the superstars of the school basketball team, able to dunk the ball from practically anywhere on the court." It didn't ocurr to Luigi that Link might not know what Basketball was, and he didn't see the Hylian's confused expression, so he continued.  
  
"Eventually, once we left school we decided to profit from our jumping abilities. We became construction workers, able to leap from beam to beam and speed supplies all over the place much faster than conventional methods." Luigi sneaked a grin at his brother. "Then one day an escaped gorilla decided to pay us a visit. Mario, being the sensible person he was, took the safe route and tried capturing it with his bare hands rather than going for help."  
  
"Hey, at least I did something!" Mario replied angrily. "The big ape had kidnapped my girlfriend, dammit! Of course I wasn't going to stand there and wait for help while any number of things could've been happening to her!"  
  
"Mario's old high school sweetheart, Pauline, had been kidnapped by the monkey before he arrived at the construction site. We later found out that his name was Donkey Kong, but we didn't know this at the time." Luigi explained to Link quietly. "DK climbed to the very top of the tower we had been building and when Mario went to stop him, tried throwing barrels of supplies at him." He snickered at the very prospect of it. It almost sounded like something taken out of a video game.  
  
Link smiled nonchalantly. Funny, he'd been thinking the same thing himself.  
  
"Mario almost rescued Pauline from DK, but then the ape escaped and went to another of our construction sites. Mario kept following him, and eventually captured the big monkey."  
  
"I had to use my jumping abilities a lot for that encounter." Mario recalled. "A lot of the steel beams were placed really far apart, and it took all my strength to bridge them."  
  
"Anyway, once we became plumbers afterward we noticed some odd stuff going on in the sewers. Namely, the appearance of giant turtles, some of them with wings."  
  
Link ventured a guess. "Koopas?"  
  
"Yup. We investigated the source and accidentally went through a portal into the Mushroom Kingdom. When we were there, we found out that the gravity in the area around Princess Peach's castle was higher than that in the kingdom's other areas. We continued honing our jumping abilities in the increased gravity, which caused us to be able to jump even higher when gravity was normal. Mario and I could easily surpass 15 feet in one of our jumps if we wanted to. My highest jump was about 55 feet straight up, and I think Mario's record is around 40 feet."  
  
"Actually, 42 feet." Mario corrected. By now, Link was looking at them with arched eyebrows and new respect written all over his face. "That's incredible. You guys'd sure come in handy against Ganon, you know that?"  
  
Mario shrugged. "We'd help if we could, but we have a Koopa to catch." He reminded the Hylian hero.  
  
Any further conversation was interrupted by a sharp cry from behind them. "Hey! What're you three doing here.....oh, fairy boy! I didn't see you there."  
  
The trio turned around to see a young Hylian girl with red hair approaching them from one of the houses. Mario looked from her to Link and back again. "'Fairy boy'? Is she talking to you??"  
  
Link already felt his face growing hot. Luigi took this opportunity to burst out laughing.  
  
Link squeezed his eyes shut in humiliation. "Hey, there, Malon." He greeted through clenched teeth.  
  
Malon hadn't seemed to notice Link's adverse behavior, or if she had, she didn't show it. "Hey yourself. Where've you been all this time?" She asked with her hands on her hips and a cocky smile playing at her mouth.  
  
"I had to go free Navi at the Kokiri Forest." Link replied while shooting a deadly glare at Luigi, which quickly silenced him.  
  
"Oh, okay. How's Epona doing?" The girl asked while edging closer to them, eyeing the two Bros. with interest.  
  
"She's fine. I let her go graze a little while ago. She'll be back before dark."  
  
Malon nodded, still looking at Mario and Luigi. Link realized that introductions were in order.  
  
"Oh yeah! Malon, this is Mario and this is Luigi. Guys, this is Malon, my friend I was telling you about." The Bros. waved cheerfully in turn. Malon performed a mock-curtsey and held out a hand for them to take, saying "Hello, how do you do?" in her snobbiest tone of voice.  
  
Luigi's moustache shook with amusement and he grinned sinisterly. To Malon's surprise, he took her hand and got down on one knee to kiss it lightly. "At your service, my lady." He replied right back in a proper tone. Spending time with royalty had certainly improved his edicate, Mario reflected.  
  
Malon quickly snatched her hand away and blushed fiercely, having not expected Luigi to do anything in return. Luigi got back to his feet at the receiving end of grins from the other two men. He grinned back.  
  
"Well! I...I suppose you three will be wanting to spend the night?" Malon asked, changing the subject quickly while looking at the darkening sky.  
  
Link nodded soberly, reminded of their buisiness here. "Yes. Three rooms for a night, if you don't mind."  
  
Malon was still blushing as she nodded and led the three back to one of the houses. Mario asked Link along the way (quietly) how he expected the owners to have enough room for all of them. To this Link also quietly replied that Malon's family had set up an inn service inside the ranch to accommodate weary travelers going back and forth across Hyrule Field.  
  
Mario looked distraught at this news. "But our money won't work here! How will we pay them?"  
  
Link grinned sneakily and pulled out from beneath his belt an enormous leather sack with a hexagonal green stone set into it. "Don't worry." He whispered back. "Money isn't a problem."  
  
Mario looked incredulously at the sheer size of the huge sack. "Just what kind of currency do you use here?"  
  
In reply, Link pulled the bag open to show Mario its contents. Brilliant multicolored light flooded out onto the plumber's face, illuminating the way his eyes bugged out and his jaw dropped as he saw what was inside.  
  
"Luigi! Get over here!"  
  
"Huh? What is it Mari-aaaah...." Luigi trailed off and stopped short as he saw the same thing Mario had seen inside the bag.  
  
Glittering, colored gems tumbled gently against one another inside the bag as Link walked. They were of all different sizes and each was perfectly cut into a hexagonal shape, tapering off at the ends. Blue sparkled, red shimmered, green glittered, and a single brilliant gold gem shone at him in the dimming sunlight.  
  
"R-r-rubies!" He exclaimed. "Diamonds! Sapphires! Emeralds!" Every precious stone he could think of lay in open view before him. "W-w-where did you g- get these??"  
  
Link shrugged. "They're called Rupees, and they're our currency."  
  
The Bros. were still gazing in stunned amazement at Link's wallet when Malon said, "Okay! We're here!"  
  
She had led them inside the building and upstairs into the second floor, where they currently stood in front of the doors to their rooms. "One room each. You'll find the bathrooms inside. Every morning we have a complimentary breakfast buffet downstairs from 6 to 11 am. If you need anything else, I'll be downstairs at the front desk until 11 'o clock." She handed each of them a plain yellow key to their respective rooms, and walked away with a smile. The trio was left facing three identical doorways.  
  
Mario shrugged. "I guess we go in."  
  
With goodbyes and statements of "See you tomorrow!", the hylian and plumbers retired to their rooms.  
  
Link always had a schedule planned out for whenever he stayed at an inn. First, he'd take a shower and get the necessary hygenic tasks out of the way. Then, he'd get out his journal and write a new entry for that day in it. Next he'd fix himself some food from the supplies he carried with him, and eat dinner. Finally, he'd do some light reading before hitting the hay. He recalled this plan of events as he entered the modest room before him. Content that he now knew what to do next, he began taking off his boots to get in the bath.  
  
"Hmmm." Mario thought while closely scrutinizing the bed in front of him. He had always been very choosy about the place he decided to sleep on. He tested it by leaning a hand on its surface. Not bad. Just the right amount of springiness, but not too much. His gaze swept over the pillows carefully, not missing a single detail. Huh, interesting needlework. He fluffed the pillow up between his hands. Excellent. It was cushy and comfortable to the touch. He next inspected the covers. Very interesting indeed. A beautiful spiral design was woven onto the top cover, with other small, colored spirals framing its surface. He tested the sheet's composition by rubbing a bit of it between his thumb and forefinger. Nice. The cover was fluffy and silky-smooth, thick enough to keep you warm during the night but not so much that you'll wake up sweating profusely. He cautiously got up and sat down on the bed itself, feeling himself sink into it as the mattress molded itself to his shape. He smiled slightly. These Hylians sure know how to make their beds right.  
  
Satisfied that the bed would be suitable for his sleeping there tonight, Mario got up and walked over to the bathroom to take a shower before going to sleep.  
  
Luigi didn't even bother to look at his bed; he took a bath first thing before he even noticed what his room looked like. He hated being dirty. All that dust and grit from Hyrule Field had gotten all over him today and he practically tore off his clothes in his race to get in the bathtub. Ah, glorious water! He sighed contentedly as the miraculous liquid cleansed his body of grime and other impurities. There we go......  
  
He spent the next half-hour in the tub, washing himself over and over until it wasn't possible for him to not be clean. Finally he shut off the flow of water, knowing that he needed to save the heated liquid for the inn's other residents. He exited the bathroom in his pajamas and feeling warm as a steamed clam. Much better.  
  
Unlike Mario, Luigi didn't use the same level of pickiness with his bed. He didn't even bother to notice the beautiful designs on its cover, in fact. He merely got underneath the covers and clicked the light off, ready to travel to the land of dreams.  
  
Something was wrong, though. He couldn't sleep. He lay there for a long time with his eyes closed, waiting for the darkness to overtake him. It never came. However, he figured that he'd go to sleep eventually if he waited long enough, so he continued to lie in the same position without doing anything.  
  
Malon sat down at the chair behind the front desk and idly played with a lock of her hair. She couldn't understand why she'd become so embarrassed when Luigi had kissed her hand. What was wrong with showing a little common courtesy every now and then? Nothing, that's what.  
  
But she recalled all too clearly the intense feeling she gotten when his lips touched her skin. It almost felt like a minor electric shock, starting at the spot where she had been touched and spreading outward to encompass her entire body, leaving it tingling. She shivered as she remembered the sensation. She didn't know where it had come from, but it was one of the most pleasurable feelings she'd had in a long time. Folding her arms on the desk, she buried her face within the folds of her dress. She desperately needed some time alone to think, to sort through all the muddled thoughts and emotions running rampant through her mind.  
  
Up above, Link had finished his schedule of events and was now on the last item, reading a delightful novel by a famous Hylian author. The book spoke of past events where Ganon had threatened Hyrule with his power, and an ancestor of Link's had risen up to defeat him. He continued to read late into the night, waiting for his eyes to become tired enough that he should put the book away and go to sleep. The tiredness never came like it usually did, but Link was so caught up in his reading that he didn't notice.  
  
Next door, Mario had no such troubles. He'd finished his bath and walked back to his bed feeling sleepy and exhausted, but happy as he remembered the bed's wonderful properties. Slowly he got beneath the covers, savoring the warmth and feel of the quilt against his nightclothes. With a slowly widening smile, he turned off the light and was asleep almost instantly. 


	4. Chapter Three: KO'ed

The Crossover Saga  
  
By Stoney (stoney107@yahoo.com)  
  
Chapter 3  
  
KO'ed  
  
  
  
  
  
Field of Dreams, ?:?? pm.  
  
  
  
Mario opened his eyes to find himself on a small hill in a grassy prairie. He got to his feet, wondering where he was and how he'd gotten here. Hadn't he just fallen asleep in his hotel room? So how had he gone from there to completely lost in an unfamiliar setting? He became confused.  
  
He looked up, and only grew more confused as he saw what was above him. The sky was black and dotted with stars, indicating that it was nighttime in this place, wherever he was. But the landscape around him was lit up as if it were daytime, despite there being no visible source of light. He took off his cap and scratched his head in puzzlement. Then he realized something.  
  
He looked at himself to find that he was no longer in his pajamas, but back in his work clothes. How'd he get dressed without knowing it? He placed his cap back onto his head, shooting bewildered glances at his surroundings. None of this was making any sense.  
  
Not knowing what else to do, he picked a random direction and began walking. He had to admit, the scene around him was kind of pretty. Trees could be seen marking the edge of a forest in the distance, but between here and there only a few towering oaks broke up the monotony of the gently swaying grass. He rested beneath one of these trees, leaning against it's smooth trunk and shivering slightly in its shade. A gentle wind came along and fanned his face. He sat down with a sigh, and smiled. If this place wasn't so weird, he could almost get used to it.  
  
The wind picked up suddenly, turning into a violent gale that swept Mario's cap clean off his head with no warning at all. Mario opened his eyes as he felt the unfamiliar coldness on his scalp, and felt around up there to find his precious cap missing. He gasped in horror, then looked around himself frantically and spied the cap being blown away toward the forest. He immediately leaped to his feet and ran after the slowly diminishing hat as fast as he could go, praying that he wouldn't lose his most prized possession to the powerful forces of nature.  
  
The cap grew farther away and Mario upped his pace, his breath beginning to come in shorter and shorter breaths until he was almost gasping for air. He willed himself to go faster anyway, not noticing that the cap had almost been blown to the forest by now.  
  
The precious garment entered the grove of trees and snagged itself upon a limb. The wind tugged against it, almost seeming angry at the resistance. But the branch held firm, and Mario ran faster, hoping to grab the cap before the wind tore it loose.  
  
He entered the forest, but failed to notice the bizarre shape of the trees, or the odd coloring of their leaves; his focus was completely on his bright red cap waving in the wind. He was almost to it! Just a couple more feet...  
  
The branch suddenly gave a sharp snapping sound, and with a cry Mario lunged.  
  
With a sickening crack, the branch broke, freeing the cap from its anchor. Mario's hand stretched for it but caught only air, as the wind yanked it just out of his reach. Mario suddenly found himself falling from his lunge to land face down in the mud, still cap-less and beginning to despair.  
  
With a squelch he came away from the muddy ground and pulled himself to his feet. Wiping the slimy liquid from his eyes, he saw the cap be twirled through the air by random gusts of wind before uncerimoniously landing in a bush. Hope surged through him anew. He quickly raced toward the bush to retrieve the hat.  
  
He stopped short and skidded to a halt as the bush gave a loud rustle and shook itself. He eyed the plant warily. Was there intelligent plantlife in this place? Maybe he shouldn't violate the bush's personal space. After all, he hailed from a kingdom of walking, talking fungi. Walking, talking shrubbery just seemed like the next evolutional step.  
  
In the next second he found out that the source of the shaking wasn't the bush itself but something inside the bush, as something large, round and pink jumped out of it at him. He gave a startled yell and backpedaled frantically, only to trip over the forgotten broken branch and land on his rear in the mud. He quickly stood back up to face off with his attacker, noticing with dismay his dirty appearance.  
  
The round pink thing stopped its advancing and began snickering, then chuckling. Then it pointed at Mario and laughed out loud at his predictament. The plumber was covered from head to foot in ugly brown mud, bits of it falling off him to land on the ground with a plop! as the rest of it oozed into his shoes and gloves. With what dignity he had left Mario attempted to wipe the mud off himself. Unfortunately, it was hopeless. He finally gave up and turned to get a good look at his would-be attacker.  
  
The thing was short, around half Mario's height, completely round, and colored a bright luminescent pink. It had two red triangles sticking out from it's base, which Mario assumed were its feet. Two pink cones stuck out to either side of it's body, and for some reason Mario wondered if they were its arms. But the cones didn't appear to have any hands or fingers, and they were slightly short for that matter. The thing's face was set in the middle of the sphere, which was the largest part of the creature; two bright blue eyes twinkling with amusement, tiny pink dimples on either side of the eyes, and a mouth currently set into a wide smile. It did not appear to have any discernable nose or ears, and didn't have a single hair on it anywhere. Finally, Mario noticed that it was wearing his cap.  
  
"Hey!" Mario yelled. "That's my cap!" He didn't know if the creature would understand him, but he had to try. Apparently his words had some effect on it, though, because the grin immidiately vanished from its face. It motioned to the bright red cap it was wearing. "THIS cap?" It asked, in normal English (to Mario's infinite relief). Mario nodded. The creature pointed to the bush out of which it had jumped. "I was trying to sleep over there, just minding my own buisiness, when this thing flies out of nowhere and lands on my head! How do you explain that?" It fixed Mario with a piercing gaze.  
  
"The wind blew it off my head. Can I have it back?" Mario pleaded.  
  
"Yeah, of course you can have it back. You didn't think I was going to steal it, did you? But first I wanna see what powers this thing gave to me." Mario was about to ask what the pink ball was talking about, when the being closed its eyes, concentrated, and suddenly did one of Mario's Super Jumps! It landed, and chucked a couple red fireballs. Then the pink ball grabbed a nearby bush, uprooted it from the ground, and spun it around in a spin throw similar to the one Mario had used on Bowser when he'd fought for Princess Peach's Power Stars. Finally, the pink ball reached a cone-hand into the ground, and pulled up a turnip with eyes and a smiley face, just like Mario had been able to do during his adventure in Subcon. The pink ball threw the turnip aside, took off Mario's cap and handed it back to the plumber. "Nice. You've got some interesting abilities, ummm....Mr......"  
  
"Mario. My name's Mario."  
  
"Mario, right. Anyway, like I was saying, you've got some pretty cool abilities in that cap."  
  
Mario was about to explode with unanswered questions, and couldn't decide which one to ask first. Finally he settled on a relatively simple one. "Who are you?"  
  
"That's right, I forgot to introduce myself. My name's Kirby. Before you ask, yes, I'm the same Kirby who defeated King DeDeDe and saved Dreamland from a plague of nightmares." The ball took a slight bow, not noticing Mario's increased confusion at his statement. Mario, for his part, decided to ignore the other titles attached to Kirby's name, at least until he understood where he was a little better.  
  
"Next question. What the heck did you mean about my 'abilities'?"  
  
Kirby's eyes widened. "Huh? You don't know?"  
  
Of course I don't know, Mario thought irritably. Otherwise why would I be asking you?  
  
Kirby slowly walked around Mario, studying him from all angles. "Yes, true, you don't look like a normal Dreamlander. I should have expected such." Kirby mused as he walked back to stand in front of Mario again. "You must have gotten here by sleeping."  
  
Mario could only stare blankly. "What?"  
  
Kirby waved the question off. "I'd better explain where you are first. This is the kingdom of Dreamland, the setting for all good dreams. Every dream you've ever had took place here. The landscape can change according to the dream that the person is having, making the person feel like he or she is experiencing it in a different place. Right now, however, you are looking at Dreamland as it is when unaffected by a dream."  
  
Mario scratched his scalp (he hadn't put his cap on his head yet, for fear of getting it muddy). "So...you're saying that I'm inside one of my dreams??"  
  
Kirby nodded. "Yup. Non-Dreamlanders like yourself are known as Reals here. Every time a Real goes to sleep, they come here for the duration of their dream. The strange thing is, though, is that you're not supposed to be able to see Dreamland like it is normally." Kirby waved a cone-arm around himself to indicate the landscape. "All this is supposed to be shaped to be the setting of your dream, but it hasn't yet. Something's wrong."  
  
Mario nodded slowly. "Okay, I understand that part. But what do you mean about 'Dreamlanders', and how did my cap give you my abilities?"  
  
Kirby smiled cutely and motioned toward himself. "Dreamlanders are native inhabitants of Dreamland that live here and see the place as it really is. I'm one of them. All of the other Dreamlanders look like me, too, except they aren't pink."  
  
"As for your abilities," Kirby sighed, "this is where things get complicated. Okay, try to stay with me here, alright? Dreamlanders have always had one defining physical trait; an insatible appetite and love for sleeping."  
  
Mario beamed. "Sounds like my kind of species!"  
  
"May I continue? Thank you. Anyway, whenever we get hungry, we Dreamlanders usually just inhale whatever food is nearby."  
  
Mario couldn't resist questioning this. "Inhale?"  
  
"Like this." Kirby walked over to where the bush had formerly been, dug an arm into the ground, and pulled out an entire three-layer cake that somehow didn't have a speck of dirt on it. Mario's eyes bugged out and his mouth began to water as he noticed the fudge filling, vanilla icing, strawberry- flavored frosting in the shape of roses...  
  
Kirby then opened his mouth so wide that it looked like his sphere of a body had been reduced to a semicircle. A slight whistling sound pierced Mario's ears as Kirby began to suck in air like a vacuum, pulling the cake directly into his mouth. He immediately swallowed it, although Mario had to wonder where the food went since Kirby didn't seem to have any stomach visible. "See? We inhale it. Anyway, about ten years ago this really egotistical penguin named DeDeDe tried to take over Dreamland and succeeded, proclaiming himself to be the land's 'king'. Problem is, DeDeDe doesn't know anything about being a king, so he never performs any administrative tasks himself. The people of Dreamland simply continued to live as they always have, and ignored DeDeDe entirely."  
  
"A couple years later, however, 'King' DeDeDe finally decided to start abusing his power. He ordered that all the food in Dreamland be brought to him and placed in his own personal horde. The Dreamland citizens didn't like that, and they picked me to go stop him."  
  
"DeDeDe somehow managed to hire a group of renegade Dreamlanders and other, non-native monsters. I think he did this by giving them all the food they could ever want in exchange for their services. He sent them out after me to delay or even halt my progress. One day, while I was avoiding these troops and travelling to DeDeDe's castle, I got so hungry that I swallowed one of the monsters. When I did so, the hat that the enemy had been wearing suddenly appeared on my head and I found myself able to do all the stunts that that enemy could do.  
  
"I eventually learned that this would happen with any enemy I swallowed. I'd earn a hat modeled after the enemy I'd beaten and would be able to use it's powers. Sometimes, if I found an Ability Hat on the ground, I could simply pick it up, wear it, and automatically get some new abilities. I called this new trick my 'Copy' ability, and I've been using it ever since during my adventures. Any questions?"  
  
"Just one." Mario replied. Kirby noticed that he was a faint shade of green. "I thought you said that these 'enemies' were also Dreamlanders in DeDeDe's employment. Do you mean to say that you practice cannibalism when you eat them?"  
  
Kirby threw his round head back and began laughing, much to Mario's chagrin. "N-no, I don't." Kirby managed to gasp out after a minute or so of mirth. "When I swallow the enemies, they aren't actually eaten, per se. They just get transformed into the caps and leave behind a little bit of energy to keep my body going. If I want, I can change the hats back into Dreamlanders at any time, except that when I do so the Dreamlander will want to help me in my quest instead of fight me. Don't ask me why, I still can't figure it out."  
  
Mario took a deep breath and let out a huge sigh of relief. "Oh, okay." He studied the cap he held in his hands closely. "So you're saying that if you wear my cap, you can automatically copy my abilities and do everything I can do?"  
  
Kirby nodded. "In a nutshell, yes."  
  
"Wow." He paused. "That's awesome. You're the ultimate doppelganger!"  
  
Kirby chuckled and grinned. "Yeah, I guess I am, aren't I?"  
  
"So what are you doing currently? Any adventures going on right now?"  
  
Kirby's expression changed to become serious. "Yeah, I was going to go investigate some strange events that have been occurring in Dreamland recently. Lately, Reals who enter here by dreaming are seeing the unaffected Dreamland, something that isn't supposed to happen. Not only that, but often those that this happens to find themselves unable to leave after they arrive here. Other Reals have been unable to enter Dreamland at all recently, and therefore have been unable to sleep."  
  
Mario was shocked. "Oh man, that's horrible! Being unable to ever sleep - that's one of my worst nightmares!"  
  
Kirby looked at Mario curiously. "A nightmare, huh? Those are supposed to be rare occurrances around here. Has this nightmare been happening often as of late?"  
  
Mario thought for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah, it has."  
  
Kirby frowned in sudden thought. "Not good. That means that something is seriously wrong around here. I was going to go see if I could fix this, but now it seems even worse than I thought."  
  
"Let me help!" Mario spoke up suddenly. "I hate having nightmares! And I really don't want the one about endless insomnia to come true! I'll go with you to fix the problem."  
  
Kirby eyed him again with that piercing look. "Well, you do have some pretty good abilities, as indicated by your cap. And you look like you could do pretty well in a fight. But we'll have to get you cleaned up first."  
  
Mario remembered his dirty appearance and nodded slightly, more than a little embarrassed at the thought of adventuring while looking like a Mud Monster.  
  
"Come on, there's a fresh stream nearby where you can wash off." Kirby waved him over and began walking away through the trees. Mario quickly followed.  
  
  
  
  
  
Link was completely absorbed in his reading. He was currently at a part that spoke about one ancestor's trip to the Dark World (an alternate- universe Hyrule) in order to save the royal princess of that time period from Ganon's evil clutches. So absorbed was he, in fact, that he didn't notice the sounds of a scuffle coming from downstairs. His head jerked up in surprise, however, when he suddenly heard a bloodcurdling scream echo through the building. Not even pausing to think, he quickly buckled his equipment on and raced out of his room.  
  
Out in the hall, doors were opening and guests were sticking their heads out, wondering what was the cause of the noise they'd just heard. Link tried to calm them as he went past, saying that everything was under control and that they could go back to their rooms. He heard a familiar voice shout for him to wait up and he slowed, waiting while Luigi caught up to him.  
  
Link began to run at full speed again when Luigi was beside him, only pausing long enough to give the plumber a sideways glance. Without turning around, he asked Luigi, "Where's your brother? I thought he'd want to help with this."  
  
Unseen to Link, Luigi shook his head. "Mario could sleep through an earthquake. I'm not surprised that he could sleep through this, too."  
  
Link gave the faintest of nods and upped his speed slightly. Luigi began to ask whom it was that had made the noise, when another scream abruptly split the air. They winced and held their eardrums as the sound reverberated off the walls and amplified itself in the hall, growing to a deafening pitch. This scream was long and drawn-out, sounding desperate and with a note of pain in it as well. Link's eyes grew wide in realization as he recognized the voice. He stopped dead in his tracks, his expression turning to stone and his fiery gaze becoming capable of cutting through solid ice. "That's Malon." He whispered to no one in particular.  
  
Suddenly he leapt to life. "Malon!" He yelled as he went for broke and started running full-tilt towards the end of the hall and the stairs that awaited there. He reached it and took the stairs down three at a time, leaping over the last five to the ground and stumbling slightly before resuming his fearful run to the front desk. "MALON!"  
  
He unsheathed his sword and buckled his shield onto his other arm as he rounded the corner and entered the lobby. The sight that met him almost caused him to drop both.  
  
Six-foot-tall, bipedal creatures in heavy armor had entered the building armed with spears and had taken ahold of Malon. They had the faces of pigs, with long canine teeth jutting up from their lower jaws on either side of their snouts. They were called Moblins, he remembered.  
  
The nearest Moblin stared at Link in surprise for the briefest moment before suddenly grabbing Malon from another moblin's grasp and pulling her in front of him as a shield, pinning her arms to her sides with one hand and placing the razor-sharp edge of its spear a half-inch away from her throat with the other. Slowly it backed away, clearly intending to use the girl as a hostage for their escape. Link felt an uncontrollable fury swelling inside him at this, threatening to explode violently as he saw her helpless face in the monster's grip. She was crying, giving loud wracking sobs that shook her entire body as the tears came unbidden down her face. She looked toward Link pleadingly, begging him to help her through her eyes. But Link knew that he couldn't do anything while the pig had a hold of her.  
  
With its head, the beast motioned for Link to drop his sword. Link remained motionless, his grip on the Kokiri Sword's handle never slacking. The moblin pressed the spear's blade against Malon's skin slightly, provoking louder sobs from the hostage in question. Link's sword fell to the ground with a dull clang as he released it. He couldn't let them hurt her, no matter what the price.  
  
  
  
Luigi tried to keep up with Link. He really did. But the Hylian's pace was so swift that he soon found himself falling further and further behind. His breaths came in quick pants. His legs began to ache. He didn't have the endurance to keep running so fast for much longer.  
  
Finally Luigi slowed to a halt and leaned breathlessly against the wall, wheezing and coughing. He needed to start running more often, he reflected. This was ridiculous. Finally his breath returned and he began wondering where Link might have gone.  
  
Luigi's thoughts trailed off as he heard some sort of noise coming from downstairs. Curious, he lay down flat on the floor and pressed his ear up against it. It sounded like something metal hitting the floor, and someone grunting something...  
  
The floor gave an ominous creak.  
  
Luigi lifted his head back up and looked at it nervously. Uh-oh...  
  
  
  
The moblin seemed to smile, the action twisting its features into an even more grotesque shape than before. Making sure to keep Link within its eyesight, it turned its head and grunted to some of the other pig-beasts around it in a language Link couldn't understand. One of them stepped forward with a length of chain held between its hands, obviously planning to tie him up with it. He allowed the monster to approach him without a struggle, knowing that the apparent lead Moblin holding Malon wouldn't hesitate to slit her throat at the slightest hint of hostility from him.  
  
There was one thing that the lead Moblin hadn't counted on, however. And that was Luigi suddenly crashing through the ceiling on top of its head. Malon was immediately released from its grip as the monster fell to the floor in a heap, knocked out cold. Luigi stumbled unsteadily to his feet, swiftly took in the scene around him, grabbed Malon's hand and raced away, spiriting her to safety.  
  
Link gave a mental sigh of relief as Luigi escaped with Malon. There's one less headache he had to worry about. In one swift move he ducked and rolled toward the group of Moblins, snatching up his sword from where he'd dropped it on the floor. He came up and immediately parried a strike from one of the monsters, thrusting his sword through its chest. It gave a single pained squeal before evaporating. He backfipped over a low swipe that one of the other pig-beasts had aimed at him, and ducked as another threw its spear at his head. The spear sailed over him and directly into another Moblin who had been sneaking up on him from behind, destroying it. Link picked up the dropped spear from behind him and hurled it right back at its owner, hitting it dead-on in the forehead. POOF, it was gone.  
  
One of the moblins gave a war-cry and charged at him, spear held high above its head. Link ducked and swept its feet out from underneath it, then stabbed it repeatedly when it tumbled to the ground. A moment later there was only a faint mist of purple smoke where it had been. He sensed another Moblin attempting a surprise attack from behind him and lunged sideways as an enormous battle-axe swung down and embedded itself in the floor where he had been standing a moment earlier.  
  
Link stared at the weapon in surprise as its owner attempted to dislodge it from the floor. None of the other Moblins he had seen were carrying anything other than spears. He looked at the monster who had swung it. Oh, it was the leader. Apparently it hadn't been knocked out, only stunned.  
  
The axe lept away from the floor with much splintering and cracking of wood. The lead Moblin eyed Link with homicidal tendencies in its gaze. Then it began swinging the axe blindly in fury. Link easily darted out of the axe's range and considered his opponent from afar for a moment. The Moblin leader was wearing more armor than the others, and it was swinging its weapon around so much that he couldn't possibly get near it without getting a limb chopped off. But he noticed that its head remained unprotected. That gave Link an idea.  
  
He swiftly reached into his sack and brought out his Hookshot. Aiming carefully, he fired it at the ceiling above the leader's head. In a flash he was pulled up to the position, leaving the Moblin below to look around in confusion and wonder where its prey had gone. Link hung by one hand to his Hookshot's handle, holding his sword with the other. With some more precision aiming, he let his sword drop, point-first, onto the leader's head.  
  
The lead Moblin gave a strangled grunt as the point of the sword drove itself down through its skull, impaling itself on its brain. It twitched spasmodically once, then slowly fell forward, dissolving immediately upon landing.  
  
Link wiggled the Hookshot out of its hold and dropped lightly to the floor, surveying the carnage around him and cautiously making sure no more monsters lied in wait. When none jumped out to greet him, he gave a mental sigh, picked his sword up from where it was left on the floor, sheathed it, and put his Hookshot away. He tried to recall which direction Luigi had taken Malon. Remembering it vividly, he set off in search of the two.  
  
  
  
  
  
Mario ducked his head beneath the surface of the water, feeling the grime and mud wash away. He came up with a slight gasp; the water was COLD! He gritted his teeth and bared the low temperature as he splashed himself repeatedly to get all the mud off. His clothes would get wet, but so what? It was better than being filthy.  
  
Kirby sat nearby, eating berries from a bush he'd found. His way of getting the berries off the bush was simple; He'd begin inhaling in front of the bush, and force of the suction would cause the berries to pluck themselves from their own stems and enter his mouth. Mario marveled at this method of eating. It seemed much faster and time-saving than more conventional ways. He set his shoes off to the side, and began wringing the water out of his gloves and socks. Long ago he'd noticed some of the stranger properties of the forest; namely, the way the trees were colored blue and yellow and how all of them looked like large fluffy batches of cotton candy when viewed from a distance. He hadn't spoken up about it, however, dismissing it as just being another of Dreamland's weird features.  
  
He looked up and around himself at the forest again, realizing that there was something missing from this scene. Then it hit him. No sound. Apart from what he and Kirby made, the forest was dead silent. Even the stream in front of him lacked its usual bubbly noise. Mario peered around at the surrounding trees. No birds were perched in their branches. No squirrels climbed up their trunks. There was absolutely no other lifeforms there besides himself and his Dreamlander counterpart. It began to creep him out. What was wrong with this place?  
  
Kirby finished his snack and licked his lips thoughtfully as he walked back over to where Mario was perched on the streambank. "Mmmm! Dee-licious! What's up, Mario?"  
  
Mario waved about himself with his uncovered hands, indicating the scene around them. "Where's all the animals?"  
  
Kirby cocked his head curiously. "What animals?"  
  
"Birds! Squirrels! Rabbits! Foxes! Insects! You know, animals!"  
  
"Oh, them. They're all probably inside the town on the forest's opposite side."  
  
"Kirby?"  
  
"Hmm?" Kirby asked. He was currently gluping down water from the stream like there was no tomorrow.  
  
"Why would the animals be in the town?" Mario was now squeezing water out of his cap, while laying his gloves and socks out to dry.  
  
Kirby finally stopped drinking by the gallon and answered. "The 'animals', as you call them, are intelligent beings that are about as tall as me. they can communicate with other Dreamlanders and such, as opposed to the primitive beasts I've seen in some Reals' dreams."  
  
"Ah." Then the rest of Kirby's reply registered. "Wait a minute, you can see inside dreams?"  
  
"Well, yeah. When Dreamland is affected by a dream, so are its inhabitants. The last dream of yours that I was in, I was a bird, I think. That was the one where you were flying, right?"  
  
Mario remembered and nodded.  
  
"If I remember correctly, at one point you were flying with me and a whole bunch of other Dreamlanders that had also turned into birds." Kirby shrugged his cone-arms (the motion appeared very strange to Mario, who couldn't see any shoulders for Kirby to shrug with) and went back to his drinking. Mario thought about this for a long time.  
  
"Have you been inside every single one of my dreams?"  
  
Kirby shook his head, which caused his whole pink body to shake. "No. Each dream that a Real has takes place in a small area of Dreamland. This way, several Reals can enter Dreamland at once. If you are in the area where a Real's dream takes place, you become part of the dream. When you leave the area, you return to normal. I just so happened to be around the area where your specific dream occurred when it did so. I've been inside a couple of your brother's dreams, though. And those two princesses that you protect, as well."  
  
Mario dropped his cap in surprise. "How did you know--?"  
  
"Aw, c'mon, you think they don't talk about you during their dreams? Give me a break! Anyway, you'd be pretty interested to see what happens in some of them. Especially that princess who always dresses in pink. What's her name? Pearl?"  
  
"Peach." Mario corrected.  
  
"Ah, yes. Peach. Yeah, her dreams are particularly intriguing..."  
  
"Why? What happens in them?" Mario asked eagerly.  
  
Kirby shook his head again. "Sorry, I can't tell you. Those dreams contain......personal stuff. You must understand, Mario, that dreams are the most direct route to the deepest and most secretive thoughts, feelings, desires, and fears of our souls, some of which your concious mind might not even know about. Your subconcious sends images of these things for your brain to see during sleep. To reveal something that private about a person would be equivalent to raping that person's mind. So unless Peach herself tells you about these things locked within her dreams, I cannot divulge any info."  
  
"But not all dreams are meant to be subconcious messages." Mario protested.  
  
"True. I've encountered some dreams that were totally random, making no sense at all and therefore being impossible to interpret. My guess is that your imagination creates those dreams rather than your subconcious. Peach's dreams, however, are not like that. Besides, what would you gain by learning about a dream someone had which made no sense?"  
  
"Nothing, I guess." Was Mario's mumbled reply. "So....what you're telling me....is that you know my innermost thoughts and fears because of my dreams?"  
  
Kirby hesitated before answering. "Well, I don't exactly know much about you, since I've only been in a couple of your dreams, and all of them seemed like your imagination created them. When it comes to other Reals, though, yes I do."  
  
By now Mario's eyes were wide open and he was staring at the water in front of him blankly. He'd never feel the same about going to sleep again, ever. Knowing that someone could be watching you, finding out about the most private portions of your mind, while you were unable to stop your subconcious from showing them......it made his skin crawl just thinking about it. It was the ultimate invasion of privacy, he realized. He shivered, suddenly feeling very small and very, very alone.  
  
Kirby placed a sympathetic cone on Mario's shoulder. "I know that I probably shouldn't have told you all that, but you would have found out about it eventually anyway. After all, it's more than likely that we'll run into another person's dream while you're here, so it's better that when we do so you'll know what is happening."  
  
Mario nodded weakly. He turned to look at Kirby, and almost had a heart attack.  
  
Standing where Kirby had been a moment before was a Koopa Troopa with a pink shell. Mario yelled and jumped to his feet, putting up his hands to ward off the familiar enemy. That's when he noticed his own hands. They were orangeish and had three fingers on them, along with a thumb. He looked at himself, and discovered that he was now a Koopa Troopa with a red shell.  
  
"Well, speak of the devil. Someone's having a dream around here right now." The Kirby-Koopa exclaimed.  
  
Mario looked around. The forest, stream, and night sky were gone, replaced by the familiar creepy setting of Bowser's Castle. Mario's stomach gave a queer lurch. He had a feeling that he knew whose dream he was in right now, and he desperately didn't want to be there.  
  
"Oh, no..." He whimpered.  
  
A trumpet call blared from somewhere to their right. Mario noticed that they were currently in the large entrance hall just in front of the castle's front door. Other Koopa Troopas who had been mingling together in the area suddenly dashed to either side of the hall and stood shoulder-to- shoulder with their backs to the walls. Kirby did the same, and Mario joined him at one of the sides.  
  
The grand oaken doors leading to the interior of the castle opened with a flourish. There, standing arm-in-arm with Bowser, was Princess Peach.  
  
Mario felt his jaw drop. She looked nothing like the proper dignified lady he knew. Her pink gown, hand-lace and high-heels were gone, replaced by a sleek black leather jumpsuit that showed off her graceful curves perfectly. A black leather bullwhip also hung curled at her side. The normal golden tiara on her head had been replaced by a much larger one, though it was not as elaborate as the crown Bowser was currently wearing.  
  
Bowser...Mario could hardly believe his eyes. The Koopa King was wearing a black-and-white tuxedo with a black bow tie and a top hat that he had placed over the jeweled crown he wore. He even had a little black cane to walk with clutched in his right claw. He looked sophisticated and almost gentlemany. It was as if Peach and Bowser had suddenly changed personas, he realized.  
  
Bowser and Peach began walking into the room, holding each other in their eyes and never letting go of one another's arms. Mario almost felt like he was going to be sick.  
  
The couple stopped walking at the middle of the hallway. At this point Bowser managed to tear his gaze away from Peach to address the troops on either side of the room. "At ease, men."  
  
The troops visibly relaxed, and Mario tried to calm his growing feeling of dread.  
  
"My loyal soldiers," Bowser began in a kind, friendly voice not at all like the gruff growl Mario was used to, "I have called you here today because out of the entire army at my disposal, you have proven yourselves to be the greatest. You have performed the best in the field and here at home, so I have chosen to make an announcement to you earlier than the rest of the army."  
  
The feeling of dread was very acute now, almost a physical pain. Bowser cast another love-filled gaze at the woman at his side, then spoke a phrase that would haunt Mario for the rest of his days.  
  
"We're going to have a baby!"  
  
The entire two lines of Koopas gasped as one, then erupted into simultaneous cheers. Mario looked at Peach's face. She was blushing at the attention, but wore a heartfelt smile as she gazed around at the celebrating soldiers.  
  
Now Mario really DID feel like he was going to be sick. His face turned a pale shade of green and he had to clench his jaw shut tightly to keep his lunch from landing all over the floor. As the happy couple walked back through the interior doors with a crowd of cheering Koopas behind them, Mario remained rooted to the spot, focusing completely on resisting the gag reflex. It's just a dream, he told himself repeatedly. It's just a dream, it's not real, Peach doesn't really love Bowser, it isn't true, it's just a dream......  
  
He didn't notice Kirby place a supportive hand onto his shoulder, nor did he notice as the landscape suddenly melted back into Dreamland. A splash of water from the stream in front of him alerted him to this a moment later, though. With a weak smile to Kirby, who was now his normal pink puffball self, Mario walked over to behind a tree and quietly retched.  
  
He remained there for another five minutes, only stopping when there was nothing left in his stomach for him to throw up. Even then, Mario still felt queasy. Peach and Bowser! He couldn't believe it. It was undoubtedly Bowser who'd thought the dream up, since Peach refused to even be near Bowser in real life. Who would've thought that Bowser felt that way about her? Mario had always believed that Bowser had kept kidnapping Peach simply to force him and Luigi to come to the Koopa's castle. He had no idea that the giant turtle might have had ulterior motives behind these acts.  
  
Mario didn't know what to do. He'd just had a very personal look into the mind of his worst enemy. He felt like screaming, laughing, and crying, all at the same time. Finally all he could do was hold his head in his hands and slowly sink to his knees as the implications of all this hit him full force.  
  
Then he realized. Bowser had just kidnapped Peach again before trapping him and Luigi in Hyrule! He'd also taken Daisy with him, for that matter. Who knows what he'd do with them?  
  
Mario leaped to his feet, the queasiness replaced by a sudden feeling of urgency. He ran back over to where Kirby still stood next to the stream. "Quick, do you know a way I can get back home?"  
  
Kirby was rather startled. "But Dreamland-"  
  
"I'll come back to help you fix it later. Right now there's something I need to take care of back home." Mario's face hardened as he recalled the image of Peach holding Bowser's arm and him holding hers. He would NOT allow that to happen.  
  
Kirby suddenly seemed uneasy. "Um...Mario...you know how I said that some Reals who come here are unable to leave?"  
  
"Yeah? So what?" Mario asked impatiently. The more time he was spending here, the more worried he was getting about Peach.  
  
"Well...you're one of them."  
  
Mario stopped thinking altogether for about five seconds.  
  
"WHAT?!?"  
  
"I could tell from that dream we were in just now...only residents of Dreamland change to suit the dreams of Reals." Kirby explained uncomfortably. "Dreamland itself now considers you to be one of its residents, Mario."  
  
Mario was reeling in shock. How could this happen? He asked himself. All he'd ever wanted to do was live in peace and protect Peach. Now he's stuck here and on the verge of losing her!  
  
Wait a minute, he paused. Why should he be worried? Peach hated Bowser in real life, he knew that. How many times had she told him how much she loathed his prescence because he'd kidnapped her? She'd never fall in love with him...  
  
A new, more horrible thought dawned on Mario.  
  
....unless Bowser has Kamek brainwash her or something...  
  
"Is there any way for me to get back?" Mario asked desperately.  
  
Kirby fidgeted nervously. He didn't like this line of questioning. "Yes, if we go and fix what's wrong with Dreamland...once whatever's wrong has been righted, Dreamland should recognize you for what you really are and let you go back to your reality."  
  
Mario sighed, his shoulders slumping. He seemed to have lost all of his steam at once. He'd been hoping for some quick, temporary solution to the problem so he could go rescue Peach, but now it looked like he'd be here for a while. "All right. Let's go, then." He groaned.  
  
"If it helps, I know that there's another Real who's stuck here housed in the town on the other side of the forest..." Kirby suggested quickly. "He might know of some way to help you get back out of here, if only temporarily."  
  
Mario perked up slightly as a ray of hope pierced his stormclouds of despair. His face brightened itself slightly. "Okay, then. Let's go see this guy." Not waiting for an answer, he leaped over the river and dashed off into the forest.  
  
Kirby shook his head and leaped after him. "Mario! Wait! The village is THAT way!"  
  
Mario stopped, turned, and walked back to Kirby feeling sheepish. "Sorry."  
  
"C'mon, you'd better let me lead if you want to get anywhere." Kirby snapped. He was slightly irritated that Mario felt he could just up and leave him there like that. He began walking into the forest in a different direction, with an embarrassed Mario trailing along behind him at a discreet distance.  
  
  
  
  
  
Luigi burst out of the door to the inn, Malon's hand clutched tightly in his. He had to get out of there, and NOW!  
  
He searched frantically for a hiding place inside the ranch. To his right lay the wide pasture that housed the horses during the daytime. To his left the rest of the inn and the front entrance to the ranch spread out before him. In front of him were the stables for the animals.  
  
Luigi was about to go enter the stables, when he noticed a small, inconspicuous building out in one corner of the pasture. After a moment's hesitation, during which the sounds of battle could be heard inside the inn, Luigi began pulling Malon toward that building. "C'mon! We've got to hide!"  
  
"B-but Link...w-w-what about L-Link?" Malon stuttered fearfully. She cast a worried glance back at the inn as they ran.  
  
"He can take care of himself." Luigi assured her, while praying that he was right. "For now, we've got to get you to safety."  
  
They pelted across the open area toward the building at the far end, hoping that there they might find a safe haven.  
  
  
  
  
  
Link burst out of the door to the inn. He had to find those two, and NOW!  
  
He looked around himself for a hiding place they might have gone to. To his right the pasture lay in open view. To his left was the ranch entrance and the other part of the inn. In front of him were the animal stables where the cows and horses slept. He wondered if Malon and Luigi had hidden themselves in them. He disregarded the idea at once. Too obvious. Luigi would probably want to find a place less conspicuous…  
  
Link saw the tiny building in the pasture out of the corner of his eye. Perfect.  
  
He raced off to the building quickly, hoping that the two escapees had gotten there safely. 


	5. Chapter Four: Extra Crispy

The Crossover Saga  
  
By Stoney (stoney107@yahoo.com)  
  
Chapter Four  
  
Extra Crispy  
  
  
  
  
  
"How far away IS this town?!" Mario complained loudly.  
  
They'd been walking for over four hours, and Mario's legs felt like they were about to lock up. He tried to massage them while they walked, hardly making an effort to conceal his irritated feelings.  
  
Kirby actually had to think about the answer to Mario's question. "To tell you the truth, we don't measure distance around here like you Reals do. There really isn't any point to it; Dreamland is very, very large……sometimes it has to accommodate almost three billion dreams at once, you know. The size is necessary."  
  
Mario stopped walking. "Could we take a break for a bit?"  
  
Kirby smiled. "Sure, why not. I guess you're not as used to traveling long distances like I am, since you've never seen the real Dreamland before."  
  
Mario gratefully sat down on a conveniently-placed rock nearby. "Wonderful." It was not a sarcastic exclamation.  
  
Kirby sat down next to the plumber. He didn't even flinch as the world seemed to swirl and shift in front of his eyes. "Another dream." He remarked casually, almost conversationally.  
  
"Oh great." This time, the statement was definitely sarcastic. Within the four hours they'd been walking, Mario had found himself taking part in the dreams of innumerable people that he didn't know and had never met. A few of the dreams had transformed him into not-very-desirable objects. Some of the more memorable ones were a staple remover, a soft drink can, a pencil, and a shoe. He particularly disliked the last one; no feeling was more awkward than that of someone putting their foot inside you.  
  
I wonder what I'll turn into this time? He wondered. According to my luck so far, it'll probably be something slimy and disgusting. Maybe a frog. Or some seaweed. Or a mud puddle. He sighed.  
  
"Y'know, I'm really beginning to hate this." He muttered as the world continued its kaleidoscopic dance.  
  
"Ah, you get used to it after awhile." Kirby replied good-naturedly. He leaned back to put his arms behind his head and suddenly found that his arms had hands. He wasn't very startled by this, though. A lot of the dreams he'd been in had changed him into humanlike forms. He turned to look at what Mario had been turned into, and saw something that actually shocked him.  
  
Mario hadn't changed. He was still his normal self. He had his eyes closed tightly, refusing to look at the new landscape.  
  
"What am I now?" He murmured softly to Kirby. "A clown? A jellyfish?"  
  
"N-no, you're……yourself."  
  
Mario opened his eyes to give Kirby a weird look, and jumped about two feet into the air.  
  
"Luigi?!?"  
  
"Huh?" Kirby asked. Mario was looking at him as if he'd seen a ghost.  
  
"Luigi, what the heck are you doing here?? I thought you were stuck in Reality!"  
  
Kirby grew even more confused. "What? Who are you talking to, Mario?"  
  
"What do you mean, 'who am I talking to'? I'm talking to you!" Mario replied, pointing a finger at Kirby.  
  
Kirby blinked. He looked down at himself. In the place where he normally saw his own pink self was a tall, lean body wearing a green shirt under blue overalls. Then he understood. Looking back up at the strangely unchanged Mario, Kirby quickly explained, "Mario, Its not Luigi. Its Kirby. The dream changed me to look like your brother."  
  
Mario stuttered, then slowly closed his eyes and opened them again. The image of Luigi still remained where Kirby had been.  
  
"You're sure?"  
  
Kirby's reply was emphatic. "Yes."  
  
Mario took a deep breath and let it out again. "Oh man, you scared the living daylights out of me, Kirby! I thought you were-"  
  
"I know, I know."  
  
Mario decided to take a look at himself. "Hey, I didn't change!" He remarked, mildly surprised.  
  
Kirby/Luigi looked around himself. "I guess you didn't need to for this dream."  
  
Mario looked at the Dreamlander-turned-plumber suspiciously. "Why? What do you mea-"  
  
"Excuse me, sir?" A new voice jutted in politely. "The princess will see you now."  
  
Mario looked at the voice's owner. A Toad stood there wearing glasses and carrying a clipboard.  
  
"What?" Mario asked stupidly.  
  
"I said that the princess is ready to see you now."  
  
"Princess Peach?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
Mario looked around himself as he got up and allowed himself to be led to a fanciful door. They appeared to be in some sort of waiting room. White walls glared at him, their color almost too bright to look at. Brown benches and cushy chairs were arranged in circles around tables with stacks of out-of-date magazines. It was from one of these that he'd gotten up, and Kirby/Luigi still sat in one of the chairs. "What is this place?" He queried of the short mushroom in front of him.  
  
The Toad gave him an odd look. "Mushroom Kingdom Castle, sir. You know that."  
  
"Oh." He still didn't understand, though. Peach's castle had never had this room before…unless this dream took place in a part of the castle he hadn't seen as of yet, which he highly doubted. But he decided not to ask any more questions, lest the Toad's suspicious be aroused further. The toad opened the door and bowed him inside. He nodded curtly to it before it shut the door behind him.  
  
Mario turned around. A small yelp of surprise escaped his mouth. Princess Peach was standing there, her face two inches away from his and wearing a strange expression of happiness and relief.  
  
"Hello, Mario…" She greeted softly.  
  
Mario quickly backed away, trying to put some distance between them, but she started forward as he did so. His back hit the door with a thump, and suddenly she was there right in front of him again.  
  
He took a good look at her. She looked like she normally did; gown, lace, and tiara. Mario mentally thanked whatever gods the Toads believed in that she wasn't dressed like he'd seen her in Bowser's dream. She pulled off his cap and slowly ran a laced hand through his brown hair.  
  
"I've missed you, Mario……" She began in a half-whisper. "Where have you been all this time?"  
  
Before Mario could even think about answering, he suddenly found words leaving his mouth. "Sarasaland. I wanted to see if Daisy was alright. You knew that." He blinked when he'd finished. Why had he just said that?  
  
Peach gave a small smile. "I know, but you could have at least told me when you were coming back."  
  
Again, words leapt out of Mario's mouth without his permission. "Sorry, I wanted it to be a surprise."  
  
To Mario's complete astonishment, Peach suddenly hugged him tightly. "Don't make me worry like that about you ever again." She whispered fiercely, eyes shut tight as she leaned her head against his chest. She gave a small sob, and Mario realized she was crying. Not knowing what else to do, Mario slowly put his arms around her and hugged her back. Once again the words came, and Mario decided to just let them flow instead of trying to fight them. It saved him the trouble of thinking about what to say next, at least. "I won't, Peach. I promise."  
  
Peach pulled away from the embrace and backed up to a relatively normal distance. She sniffed, wiping her eyes with a white cloth. She smiled gratefully. "Thank you. I was really worried about you, ya know. Not knowing when I'd see you again…IF I'd see you again…" Tears began welling up in her eyes again despite her efforts. She looked down at the floor and let out a shaky breath before continuing.  
  
"Mario…there's something I need to tell you…I haven't said it before now because I was scared of what might happen when I did…but I can't risk something happening to you before I tell you. I want to be able to tell you this before you go away again, for good……"  
  
She looked deep into his ocean blue eyes, and did something that he'd never, ever forget. In one swift, sudden movement, she darted up to him and hugged him again. But this time, instead of leaning against him for support, she tilted her head forward and kissed him on the lips.  
  
Mario's pupils dilated and his eyes went unfocused as he stared off into empty space. He was beyond dumbstruck. He couldn't move. He couldn't think. His mind was completely blank. His body forgot to continue breathing. He was floating, walking on air…  
  
Peach slowly pulled away from the kiss and whispered softly in his ear, "I love you, Mario."  
  
Mario's mind was currently vacationing somewhere else, so it was a good thing that the words he spoke next came out automatically. "I love you too, Peach."  
  
One of his eyebrows started twitching convulsively as she continued to hold him. He swayed slightly. His body began shaking, but Peach didn't notice.  
  
Peach smiled joyfully at him. "Oh, that's such a relief to hear! Thank you, Mario!" She kissed him again on the forehead, which made him go cross-eyed. Mario's brain fizzled and shorted out. His jaw became unhinged.  
  
"Yes, I'd like one double cheeseburger with fries and three milkshakes to go, please." He babbled.  
  
Then he fainted.  
  
  
  
  
  
He sat at his window silently. Staring off into the distance, he took no notice of the raging thunderstorm that always seemed to surround his castle. He also didn't acknowledge the furious lightning that randomly struck the ground and castle itself. He wasn't thinking about any of these things. No, his mind was somewhere else, wandering through his castle, to the beautiful room he'd provided where his little princess currently slept…  
  
He sighed longingly, and smoke came out of his nostrils. …his Little Princess…Princess Peach…  
  
He turned away from the window and walked over to what he'd lovingly dubbed his 'thinking couch'. It was a plain, ordinary wooden bench to every other person. But he'd had it longer than any of his other possessions and cherished it dearly. As he sat his great bulk upon it, it gave a slight creak of protest which he didn't notice either. He sat, deep in thought about his princess and the other prisoner, a relative of Peach. He hadn't been able to think of what to do with her. What was her name? Oh yeah, Daisy. Yes, he couldn't think of what he should have done with Daisy. Peach had insisted that her cousin get the same accomodations as herself, and he wanted more than anything to make his Little Princess happy. So Daisy, too, had had a beautiful bedroom provided for her enjoyment.  
  
He idly toyed with one of the claws on his right hand. He loved Peach so much…why couldn't she understand that? He had already apologized for the way he had brought her here; explaining (truthfully) that she would never have come to visit him otherwise. True, the first time he'd brought her here it was for the purpose of leading Mario to his death…but after that, things began to change. He'd started to grow feelings for the Pretty Princess in Pink, and had since continued bringing her here to his abode to attempt to win her love.  
  
So far he was terribly unsuccessful. But he was convinced that if she stayed here long enough, she'd understand and reciprocate his love. Then she'd forget all about that horrible, dispicable, loser plumber, and they could wed, have children together, spend the rest of their lives with each other……  
  
A loud knock came at his door, snapping him out of his thoughts. "Come in!" He boomed in his deep voice.  
  
The door creaked open to admit a tiny Koopa with a blue shell and large tufts of bluish hair made up into two points above his head. "Hi, King Dad!" The baby Koopa chirped cheerfully.  
  
He smiled, one of the only heartfelt smiles he ever wore when he wasn't thinking about Peach. "Hello, Ludwig. What's going on?"  
  
The tiny Koopa scurried into the room dragging a large piece of machinery behind him. "Ah, nothin' much. 'Cept I think I've figured out a new invention!"  
  
He decided that he could think about Peach later. Grinning, he turned to give the child his full attention. "That's wonderful, Ludwig. What does it do?"  
  
"Well," Ludwig began in a proud, buisnesslike manner that car salesmen often took with new customers, "I haven't had a chance to test it yet, but it's supposed to be able to freeze someone in a block 'a ice without killin' em!"  
  
His expression became quizzical. "How could it do that?"  
  
"Think'a it like stopping time with th' guy. He or she would cease all body functions an' be frozen in time. Th' brain wouldn't die, it'd just shut down for awhile, going into a state kinda like sleep. Then when ya unfreeze th' guy later, he or she'll be th' exact same as when you'd froze 'em. No aging, nothin'. And th' guy would be alive an' good as new, too."  
  
He was deeply impressed. "Incredible. You've really outdone yourself this time, Ludwig my boy!"  
  
The child Koopa beamed at the praise he was receiving. He loved making his father happy with his new machines.  
  
"What do you plan on calling this ingenious device?"  
  
Ludwig grinned in that way that let you know he was thinking about something. "I've already come up with a name," He said finally. "I'll call it my Cryogenic Freezer."  
  
"I propose that we test it!" He exclaimed excitedly. "But first we'll need a test subject…"  
  
"How 'bout a Troopa?"  
  
His face grew stern. "Now Ludwig, you know very well that Daddy doesn't enjoy putting his men in danger unnecessarily. No, we'll need something else…" He snapped his fingers. "Of course! I know just what to use, too!"  
  
Ludwig's happy mood had diminished somewhat at being scolded, but now his curiosity masked any unhappiness he might have had. "What izzit, Dad?"  
  
"Follow me!" He boomed happily, getting up from his couch and stomping towards the door. He stopped along the way to scoop up the bulky machine in his massive arms. "And let's bring this…thingy-Freezer with us!" He exited the room.  
  
"Itzza Cryogenic Freezer! And wait for me!" Ludwig hurried after him.  
  
  
  
  
  
Luigi ducked and dodged frantically, clutching Malon's hand tightly within his own out of fear that she'd fall behind. They had entered the pasture only to find a group of homicidal birds ready to attack them, swooping down at the two and trying to gouge them with their beaks. So far he and Malon had avoided any serious injuries, but they'd had some pretty near misses. Luigi began to wonder if it had been the smartest choice of action in picking the building for their hideaway.  
  
Luigi leaped to the side again as one of the birds dive-bombed him. He didn't know what their problem with him was - he'd always been nice to birds - but he got the feeling that these fowl didn't really care about that. They were attacking relentlessly, using their sharp beaks like harpoons as they made beelines for his and Malon's heads. Malon shrieked and ducked as one bird made a low swipe at her, then got up and continued running.  
  
Luigi risked a glance over his shoulder. Most of the birds that had missed them were now coming around for another pass, while a few of them were content to hover and watch the ongoings.  
  
Luigi began running as fast as he could, knowing that he would get tired from the high speed in a few seconds, but desperately wanting to get out from under the line of fire. The building was so close now…he could almost reach it…  
  
Luigi didn't bother to put on the brakes when he arrived at the door but instead simply slammed into it, his hand groping for the doorknob. He opened the door, pulled Malon in, and threw it shut. Milliseconds later, he heard the dull THUDs of the birds chasing them hitting the doors and walls of the building.  
  
It was dark inside. The entire structure was shaped circularly except for at the very back, where it was molded to the shape of the ranch wall it sat up against. There were no windows for light to enter in through, but a few beams of moonlight managed to shine down through slits in the building's roof. Hay was piled up in great bunches everywhere. A couple broken tables and chairs leaned against one of the back walls. A thresher for the hay stood next to them, looking like it hadn't been used in a long while.  
  
Luigi backed up from the shaking doorway, breathing heavily and unable to believe what he'd just done. Oh wow, if they'd been just a little bit slower they would've-  
  
He slammed his mental doors shut before that line of thought could lead to anything. He looked around and finally chose a few bales of hay to sit down on. Malon collapsed against him once he did, sobbing hysterically in relief. He held her comfortingly, gently mumbling to her that it was all right, that things would be okay now. She nodded but continued crying, all the fear and tension of the past hour pouring out of her in a rush. He didn't protest but continued to sit there, allowing Malon some support at a time when she desperately needed it. For a long time they sat there like that, not saying anything to each other. Speech wasn't necessary at this point. They'd both been through a great ordeal, and shared the same feelings at the moment.  
  
After almost a half-hour of this, Malon sat up. "It's quiet out there now." She'd stopped crying a while ago and had since just sat there quietly.  
  
Luigi pricked his ears and noticed that the sound of birds colliding with the building was noticeably absent. "So it is." He murmured, suddenly yawning and stretching. "Man, I'm tired."  
  
"Luigi, I'd like to thank you for saving me." Malon started meekly. Luigi cut her off before she could say any more. "No thanks necessary. I did what any good person would do if caught in that situation." He smiled and patted the farmgirl on her shoulder. "You're a good kid, Malon. I'd hate it if you got hurt."  
  
The truth was, Luigi had always thought a certain way about women - namely, that hurting one was an obscenely horrible act and he'd never stand for it. He didn't mean for Malon to take his words the way she did, but nonetheless she did so. Looking at the plumber with gratitude and admiration in her eyes, she asked, "You…would?"  
  
Luigi nodded vigorously. "Yep. I'd probably hunt down the @%#$ who does so to you and show him what it's like to be really hurt. Twenty times over."  
  
Malon began to get teary-eyed again. "But….that's so….so…oh, Luigi!" She squeaked out at last, hugging him tightly again.  
  
The green plumber was caught completely off-guard by this reaction and simply sat, stunned for a moment. Then he slowly put his arms back around her and returned the embrace.  
  
That was the way Link found them a few minutes later, holding each other tightly as they lay on the hay, fast asleep.  
  
  
  
  
  
Mario groaned as he became conscious. The biggest headache ever was bouncing around doing the Congo inside his skull. He attempted to open his eyes and winced at the pain it caused. Slowly, however, his eyes adjusted to the bright light and he could make out individual colors and shapes again.  
  
The first thing Mario's vision saw was Kirby's concerned face leaning over him, blocking out some of the sunlight. The next thing his hearing registered was Kirby asking if he was all right. Mario groaned again in reply. He attempted to sit up, and grimaced when doing so made his head pound. Blearily he stared about himself. The weird trees of the forest in Dreamland stared back.  
  
Kirby helped Mario to his feet, steadying the swaying plumber. "You okay?" Kirby asked again. "When the dream ended I found you lying over there, passed out." He pointed a few meters off to their right.  
  
Mario barely heard him. The words 'Peach loved him' were running repeatedly through his head over and over, and there was a funny ringing noise in his ears. He couldn't believe what he had just experienced before he'd passed out.  
  
Or HAD he experienced it?  
  
His frantic thoughts suddenly paused, and the ringing noise ceased. When he tried to remember the events from the dream before he'd become unconscious, they seemed all hazy and jumbled together. Maybe he'd just imagined that it had happened, and had passed out because of something else......yeah, that was probably it.  
  
Mario tried to shake away the dizzy feeling he was afflicted with. "Yeah, I'm alright." He mumbled out at last. "How long have I been out?"  
  
Kirby's expression echoed his dismay. "A day."  
  
Mario stared at the Dreamlander incredulously. Kirby's pink face showed no hint of amusement that would signal he was joking. "You aren't serious, are you? How the heck could I pass out for that long?"  
  
"Dreamland's days are shorter than those of your world. The nights around here a lot longer, though."  
  
"So I missed the day part, and it's now night again?"  
  
"Correct. Oh, and I found another Real nearby while you were out. It says that it wants to help us fix Dreamland, and I said okay. So it'll be joining us on our mission from here on out."  
  
Mario raised an eyebrow. "It?"  
  
"You'll understand when you see it." Kirby turned around and cupped his cone-arms around his mouth, then shouted something that sounded to Mario like, 'Pipi!'  
  
Out of the trees bounded something short, fast, and yellow. It was around Kirby's height, but that was about all that Mario could discern from the little yellow blur of motion.  
  
That is, until it stopped in front of Mario and resolved itself. Mario's first impression was of a small bull or deer or something, considering how two horn-like protrusions stuck out on either side of its head. Then he realized that the horn-things were its ears, and that it actually looked more like a fairly large, yellow mouse.  
  
"Pika, Pikapi!" It squeaked at him. "Pikachu!"  
  
It had a small, mousey face, with cute, black, round eyes and a tiny upturned triangle of a nose. Two red circles sat to either side of its mouth where its cheeks would be. Its belly was round and colored a lighter shade of yellow. Short, stubby arms ended in small hands with tiny fingers. It's legs were squat, with elongated feet at their bottoms. Its toes were very small, making the feet look like they ended in little spikes. Jutting out from its back was a short, yellow tail with a black end, which Mario noticed with curiosity was shaped into what appeared to be a lightning bolt.  
  
Mario was beginning to wonder just what kind of creature this could be when Kirby suddenly spoke up. "It says that its name is Pikachu, and that it is pleased to meet you."  
  
"You can understand what it is saying?" Mario asked Kirby without taking his eyes off the animal.  
  
"Of course I can. Pikachu here is a creature of the species 'Pokemon'. I've been in enough of their dreams to understand anything they're saying easily."  
  
"Ah." Mario nodded. "Hello to you too, uh, Pikachu. Can it understand what I'm saying?" This last was directed to Kirby.  
  
"Pachu, kapi! Pichu kachu cha!"  
  
"It says that it is a male. Yes, he can understand what you're saying, and he wishes you would stop talking like he wasn't in the area." Kirby translated.  
  
"Sorry, Pikachu." Mario mumbled sheepishly.  
  
"Pika."  
  
"That's alright."  
  
Mario gave his full attention to the small mouse. "So what can you do, Pikachu?"  
  
"Kapika!"  
  
"Just watch." Kirby related to Mario The plumber nodded and sat down on the grass, waiting. Pikachu scampered away to a safe distance, so Kirby and Mario wouldn't get hurt by what he was about to do.  
  
Pikachu closed his eyes and concentrated. Suddenly, lightning began to crackle from his cheeks. He concentrated still more, and the lightning accumulated, flickering back and forth over him in a dazzling light show, sometimes leaping out to touch the blades of grass around him. Suddenly Pikachu opened his eyes, raised his paws towards the sky and cried out, "PIKA!!"  
  
Mario heard a deep rumble and looked up. Dark, angry stormclouds had gathered above the area where Pikachu was. Without warning, a bolt of pure white light arced down from the heavens and struck the miniscule Pokemon. Mario leaped to his feet in alarm, about to run over to Pikachu's aid.  
  
Then the sound hit.  
  
It felt to Mario like someone had opened up his skull and taken a jackhammer to his brain. His head seemed about to split open from what was assulting his eardrums. He couldn't hear anything over the noise and the roaring of the wind...  
  
He glanced in Kirby's direction and barely acknowledged that the Dreamlander was writhing on the ground in agony, with his cone-arms clasped tightly to the sides of his head...  
  
...he couldn't take anymore...everything was getting dark...  
  
The last thing Mario saw before passing out again was Pikachu being enveloped within a ball of pure white electricity.  
  
  
  
  
  
Koopa Castle, 9:48 AM.  
  
  
  
Deep within the bowels of Bowser's Hidden Fortress, there were two rooms that were beautifully furnished with every luxury a person could ever want. The rooms included bathrooms with hot tubs, and each room adjoined a closet large enough to fit the entire J. Peterman catalog of clothing inside. From one of these rooms, a strange thumping sound could be heard. The Koopa Troops who passed by the rooms' locked doors didn't bother to try checking out the noise's source, and hurried past the area as if they were eager to not be there.  
  
Daisy growled and kicked the wall again, recieving another lound thump for her efforts. She HATED being held prisoner against her will! Ooh, if only there weren't so many of those troops, she'd sure teach them not to mess with her!  
  
She reeled her foot back for another kick, when a sound that she hadn't made stopped her in her tracks. Her thoughts trailed off as she suddenly felt something vibrate the floor ever-so-slightly. She stopped and stood still, waiting for it to happen again.  
  
  
  
Peach felt something odd. She looked up from the book she was reading. What was that?  
  
There it was again - some sort of vibration passing through the floor, this time accompanied by a faint, far-off rumble.  
  
Her eyes travelled all over the room for the source, then settled on a cup of water she had placed next to her bedside.  
  
...thoom...  
  
The water rippled.  
  
...thoom...  
  
Another ripple.  
  
  
  
Daisy was looking all around herself for the source of the noise. Her gaze stopped at the room's barred window. Rain was splattering against it as the seemingly endless thunderstorm outside raged on.  
  
...thoom...  
  
The image of the storm outside blurred.  
  
...thoom...  
  
It blurred again.  
  
By now Daisy had walked up very close to the window, her breath starting to come in heavier breaths as the noises got louder.  
  
...Thoom...  
  
Blur.  
  
...Thoom...  
  
Blur.  
  
Peach's eyes were getting wider and wider as she stared at the water in the cup. The rumbles were getting louder and more frequent, as were the impact tremors that were causing them.  
  
She whispered softly. "Oh, no..."  
  
...THOOM...  
  
Big ripple.  
  
...THOOM...  
  
Larger ripple.  
  
...THOOM!...  
  
The water splashed against the cup's sides. Peach suddenly looked up at her door in fear. The sounds were very close to her now...  
  
...THOOM!!  
  
The water leaped out of the cup, spilling onto Peach's bedside table. She curled up into a ball out of fright and stared at the room's entrance with wide eyes.  
  
Silence for a moment. Then -  
  
WHAM! The door to Peach's room flew open.  
  
"Good morning, Princess!" Bowser greeted her jovially. "I have something for you!" He held up the black leather jumpsuit that Mario had seen inside the Koopa's dream.  
  
Peach screamed.  
  
  
  
  
  
Mario suddenly snapped fully awake. No slow rise to conciousness or anything; just blink, and he was staring at the Dreamland night sky.  
  
He sat up, noticing his headache was now gone. Odd. He heard someone shouting to his left and looked in that direction. What he saw was Kirby chewing Pikachu out furiously.  
  
"WHAT in the name of the Star Rod made you think you could use Thunder?! I can't BELIEVE this! You KNEW you shouldn't try that move unless you had a target to ground the lightning at! WHY did you do it, then?? Huh??? WHY?!?!?"  
  
"Pikachu..." The Pokemon said miserably.  
  
This reply only seemed to make Kirby more enraged. "YOU WANTED TO IMPRESS HIM?!?!?" He swelled up in fury, his size increasing at least three times. His entire pink body turned an angry red color. Steam actually came off his top. "#%$@, PIKACHU, THERE ARE EASIER WAYS TO IMPRESS PEOPLE THAN THAT!!!!"  
  
By now Pikachu seemed close to tears. Mario decided to intervene before Kirby turned the Pokemon into an Ability Hat. He called out, cutting off the beginnings of another tirade by the (very angry) Dreamlander. "Stop it, Kirby. He only wanted to prove himself to us. And he made my headache go away, too."  
  
Mario stood up, noticing that he no longer felt dizzy and lightheaded, like he had been when he first met Pikachu. "Besides," he added as an afterthought, "he DID impress me."  
  
Mario turned to adress the Pokemon. "How the heck did you manage to do that, Pikachu?"  
  
Pikachu visibly perked up at the praise. "Pika, chu chu kipapi!"  
  
Mario looked at Kirby expectantly, but the Dreamlander cast one angry look at the Pokemon and turned his back to them both, still angry. He didn't feel like translating anymore.  
  
Mario frowned at this immature behavior. But then he got an idea. He grinned sinisterly. "Kirby, translate for Pikachu or I'll sic him on you."  
  
Pikachu looked at Mario uncertainly, but then Mario grinned at him and winked. Suddenly understanding, the Pokemon grinned back.  
  
Kirby cast a sideways look at Mario, then turned his back again. "You're bluffing."  
  
Mario shrugged. "Okay, fine, you asked for it. Now, Pikachu!"  
  
"PikaCHU!" The Pokemon sent a small charge of electricity at the Dreamlander. Kirby, having not expected any attack at all, was sent flying by the charge.  
  
"Ow!" Kirby yelped as his back slammed into a tree. He waited for himself to fall to the ground after the impact, but he never did. Suddenly he realized something was wrong. He tried pulling himself away from the tree. He couldn't. He tried pushing himself off. That didn't work either. He was stuck to the tree at the spot where he had hit it, upside-down and with his back to it. Mario and Pikachu suddenly wandered into his field of vision. He stopped struggling and glared at them.  
  
"What the heck did you do?! I can't get down!"  
  
Mario grinned and rubbed Pikachu on the head. Then he walked up to Kirby and poked him with a finger. The Dreamlander yelped as a tiny jolt of electricity shocked him.  
  
"Pikachu here used static electricity on you. Since your body is so similar to a balloon's, it made you stick to the tree like normal balloons do to walls and ceilings. Now, either you cooperate and start translating for us, or we'll leave you up there all night."  
  
"Why you - !" Kirby made a valiant effort to reach Mario's neck so he could strangle the plumber, but Mario easily dodged out of his range. Mario waited out of harm's way as Kirby doubled his efforts to get free. Finally the Dreamlander gave up on attempting to escape his predictament and quietly seethed.  
  
Both parties waited. Neither wanted to back down any time soon. Time passed.  
  
After almost an hour of this, Kirby finally threw up his arms in disgust. "Oh, all right! I'll cooperate! Just get me down from here!"  
  
Mario smiled, reached out, and plucked Kirby off the tree easily. Kirby jumped out of his grip and landed on the ground without a sound.  
  
Pikachu smiled uncertainly at the Dreamlander, and Kirby finally smiled back.  
  
Mario let out a breath of relief. "Okay. Now that that's over with, I propose we get to this town already. I really want to meet this other Real who you say is there."  
  
Kirby smiled wider. "Well, I think you'll be happy to know that it's only a mile from here. If we go now, we should be there in no time."  
  
"Pika!" Kirby didn't bother to translate this.  
  
Mario clapped his hands together. "Excellent! Lead the way, Kirby!"  
  
"Right! Follow me, you two!" Kirby took off running, with Mario and Pikachu close behind.  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: In case you couldn't tell by now, I love Jurassic Park. I am T-Rex, hear me roar! ROAR! :) 


	6. Chapter Five: Food Chain

The Crossover Saga  
  
By Stoney (stoney107@yahoo.com)  
  
Author/Narrator: Hiya! Stoney here, to clear up a couple confusing conundrums! 'Dreamland' refers collectively to all the planets and galaxies that have been featured in the Kirby games. All of these planets/galaxies are in a constant orbit around Kirby's home planet, which is called Popstar. The planet that Kirby, Mario, and Pikachu are currently on isn't Popstar, but is the planet "Floria" from the SNES game Kirby Superstar. The dream phenomena applies to all of Dreamland's locations. This means that if a Real goes to sleep, he/she could wind up having their dream take place on another of Dreamland's planets/galaxies, and not just Floria.  
From here on in, Pikachu's statements will be translated in parentheses next to the original sentence that he says. Just assume that Kirby is translating these sentences into English for Mario. Thanks lots!  
  
  
  
  
  
And now, I give you your Feature Presentation! (Cue fanfare and flashy spotlights)  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 5  
Food Chain  
  
  


?????????, 4:26 p.m.

"Captain Kapi!!"

The female Koopa snapped out of her thoughtful reverie at the mention of her name, jumping a little in surprise. _Oh God, what now? _She mentally groaned. Outwardly she only grunted in irritation while standing up and walking to the front of the small tent she was currently in. 

The flap that hung loosely down in front of the opening was thrown aside as she emerged, blinking rapidly to adjust her eyes to the bright sunlight. She scanned her surroundings to address the person who had spoken. "What is it?!" She demanded.

"Come with me! Quick!" Yelled a nearby tan-shelled Koopa. "We've got trouble!"

Muttering a small curse, Kapi turned and re-entered the tent, glancing around the strewn objects inside for her armor. Ah, there it was--next to her bedside where she'd oh-so-carefully dumped it the night before. She arrived at the bed in two steps and started strapping the heavy metal plates on.

"Captain, hurry! Please!" Came the impatient yell from outside.

Kapi hooked the last buckle into place. "All right, already!" Grabbing her spear from its resting place against the support pole in the tent's middle and slapping a sturdy iron helmet on her head, she emerged from the tent with a glare. "I'm going as fast as I can!" She snapped at the guard, then blinked when she realized she didn't recognize him. "Wait a minute, who are you?"

The Koopa didn't seem to notice her angry tone. "Private Karl, ma'am!" He replied with a quick salute. "I'm one of the new members--the others sent me to find you." He pointed off to their right as he continued. "Invaders are trying to breach the camp!" He yelped excitedly, almost jumping up and down. "C'mon! Let's go cream 'em!"

Kapi sighed as the young guard dashed off in the general direction of the disturbance. "Fine, whatever." She grumbled before following him. "Youth these days....."

--------------------

  
Forest Village, 5:03 p.m.  
  
"At last!" Mario exclaimed happily.

  
Before them stretched a modern city. A very large modern city, at that. As he got his first glimpse of the village that was their destination, Mario realized that calling this place a 'village' was a bit misleading; The town was an enormous, bustling metropolis that seemed to continue onward to the horizon.

  
Pikachu gazed in mute shock at the overwhelming sight. He'd never seen a settlement this large before-even Celadon City couldn't compare to this place. "…Pika…" (…Wow…)

  
Kirby noticed their dumbfounded expressions. "Hey, knock it off, you two. This isn't really that much to look at, you know. Did you forget how large Dreamland is? Compared to the size of the rest of the kingdom, this is about as big as a village at best."

  
As this information registered, Mario and Pikachu turned their shocked gazes upon the short Dreamlander beside them. Kirby noticed this and got irritated with their staring. "What?"

  
Mario shook his head, coming out of his awestruck state. "Never mind. Let's go."

  
Together the trio trooped into the city limits, never suspecting what would await them there…  
  
--------------------  
  
The bed creaked wearily as he flopped down onto it. Bored, he stared at the ceiling above him and its plain off-white color, tracing the cracks in its surface with his eyes. He wondered what he should do today. Reaching out to clasp the oblong remote control next to him, he idly flipped through the different channels on the hotel's TV.

Rerun, boring, seen it, soap opera, boring, stupid, boring. He paused for half a second on each one before continuing on, thumb hammering down on the remote's buttons. Boring, another rerun, cartoon, boring, really awful, seen it, boring, oh dear God no, yet another rerun. Disgusted at the lack of interesting content, he turned the TV off.

A sigh welled up from inside him and burst out of his mouth. Nothing to do. He closed his eyes for a moment. Perhaps he should take a nap…..nah, he didn't feel tired in the least. He yawned and sat up, stretching his limbs. One of his feet had fallen asleep, and he vigorously shook it to restore circulation. Gosh, he'd been sitting down for too long. Maybe he should go for a walk or something…

  
A sharp yowl and rapid barking from near the door to his room indicated that his pets had the same idea. Well, he should probably take them along, too. Rolling off the bed and to his feet, he walked over to the room's closet and pulled out two long, blue leashes. He turned to the animals, who seemed to be glaring at him impatiently. "Okay, boys. We're goin' already…sheesh."

The cat hissed in outright indignation as he strapped the leash around its neck, but it allowed him to do so since it was smart enough to understand that he wouldn't let it outside otherwise. His dog was wiggling in excitement too much for him to strap the leash on, though. "Hold still!" He commanded irritably after a minute of fruitless struggling. Finally the canine stilled for a couple seconds, and he quickly strapped the leash into place in one fluid movement.

  
He tromped down the stairs from his room to the front desk, pets in tow. The clerk looked up and recognized him. "Oh, hello!" He waved with a grin. "Going out?"

  
"Yeah. My pets are needing a walk." He replied casually, lifting up into view the two leashes he was holding. The clerk leaned over the counter to get a glimpse of the animals waiting impatiently below.  
  


"Ah yes, I remember them. What did you say their names were?"

  
"Rush and Tango."

  
"Very nice." The clerk commented while reaching out to pet the cat on the head. The feline warded him off with a sudden low growl, and his hand quickly retreated, opting to pet the dog instead. "I just love animals." He smiled broadly, getting a wistful look in his eyes. "Nature is so wonderful...."

  
"Yeah. So, is there anything interesting happening lately?"

  
The clerk stopped petting the dog and reached behind himself to grab a hooded yellow coat from a rack on the wall. He shook his head while putting it on. "Man, they have GOT to fix the air conditioning in this place! I'm freezing!" He exclaimed. "Anyway, nope. Nothing much is up at the moment...although there is word going around that a couple Reals came to the city with Kirby a few minutes ago!"

  
"Wow, I guess news DOES travel fast." He snickered. The rest of the sentence suddenly registered. "Waitaminute! Did you say Kirby was here?!"

  
The clerk nodded enthusiastically. "Yup, that's right! Unbelievable, isn't it?"

  
"Oh, wow! That's awesome! Man, I wish I could meet him...."

  
The clerk shook his head. "I doubt you'd be able to. He could be anywhere in the village, after all."

  
A sigh. "Yeah, that's true...."

  
The cat interrupted them with a timely yowl. The clerk glanced down at the animal amusedly. "It seems that someone wants to get going. Well, don't let me hold you up. I'll see you later!"

  
"Okay, thanks for the info! Bye, Cid!" he called out while calmly walking out the hotel's double swinging doors into the large crowds of Dreamlanders on either side of the street. The animals, eager to begin their stroll, leaped in front of him and strained against their leashes, almost yanking their opposite ends right out of his hands. He dug his heels in and balked against them, knowing he'd never be able to find them again if they got lost in this huge town.

  
Suddenly his cat's ears pricked up and it stopped struggling for a moment. Its nose twitched. Among the familiar scents of Dreamlanders that surrounded him, one-no, two-of them were new, different. Its eyes darted around the area with the precision of an experienced hunter. That scent…it knew that scent!

The owner looked down and noticed that the cat had stopped tugging on the leash. "What is it, boy?" He asked curiously. "Do you smell something?" The cat gave no answer. It's head swerved from left to right, suddenly stopping as it spied something in the crowd of people walking on either side of the street. It's eyes narrowed.

  
The owner never knew what hit him. One moment the cat was standing still--the next, it lunged forward with such unexpected force that he was thrown clear off his feet behind it. The dog ran alongside the cat, not knowing where or why they were running but enjoying himself nonetheless, sensing that something exciting was about to take place. The hapless owner was dragged along behind them on the ground, unable to stop or slow down the renegade animals. "NO! Bad cat! Stop! Heel! AAAAAAHHHHHH......!"

  
--------------------  
   
"Admit it, Kirby. We're lost." Mario slumped his shoulders dejectedly.

  
Kirby refused to do this. "We're not lost, Mario. I'm sure the hotel is around here somewhere…"

  
Mario and Pikachu looked at each other, then at the huge crowd of Dreamlanders and other large forest animals around them. They were definitely lost, and both of them knew it. Kirby had seemed to know which way he was going when they had first entered the city. Their objective was one of the town's many hotels that was located near the city's center; it was at this place that the other Real was currently staying, Kirby had explained.

Unfortunately, the three of them had somehow gotten completely turned around within the town's confusing mix of lights, noises, and people. For the past five minutes, Mario, Pikachu, and Kirby had been aimlessly wandering without a clue of where they were or where the hotel was. The latter had become rather irritable during this time, angry at the large crowds of Dreamlanders that barred their progress and made quick travelling all but impossible. He walked slightly ahead of the other two, stubbornly shoving his way through the mass of creatures. "If I can get to the street corner, I'll be able to tell where the hotel is in accordance to our location."

  
Pikachu was about to ask that Kirby repeat what he just said in terms they could understand, when his nose suddenly began to twitch spasmodically. He stood ramrod straight as he detected a new scent among the others that pervaded the city, looking around himself with fear in his eyes.

Kirby didn't notice this, but Mario did. "What is it, Pikachu?"

  
"Pipi kacha pichu!" (Something's watching me!)

  
Mario smiled slightly. "Ah, it's probably just your nerves acting up. I admit, I'm kinda nervous too with all these people around us…"

  
"Ka, chupaka!" (No, really!)

  
Mario waved the sentence off. "It's nothing to worry about. You'll be okay in a little bit."

  
Pikachu began to get more panicky, jerking his head back and forth in rapid, quick movements. The smell was getting stronger. "Pipiu chuka chipa pu!!" (Something's coming toward us!!)

  
Mario ignored this.

Two seconds later, he wished he hadn't.

  
A small blaze of green leaped out of the crowd and descended upon Pikachu with a hungry roar. Looking up with wide eyes at the open, sharp-toothed mouth bearing down on him, Pikachu's survival instinct overrode all of his thoughts; He gave a primal scream of terror before taking off blindly into the crowd. A loud snapping sound split the air, the Thing darted away in hot pursuit of the little yellow Pokèmon.

  
The entire area went quiet as a tomb. All the Dreamlanders around them paused what they were doing to gawk at the human who had been dragged there by the Thing chasing Pikachu. Each of his hands had a tight grip around a plain blue leash-one of them was connected to a reddish dog that was fighting frantically to pursue Pikachu's attacker. The human's focus wasn't on the canine, however--he was looking in dismay at the other leash, whose end had been completely snapped off.

  
Slowly, still surprised by the whole event, Mario walked over to help the boy up. "Are you okay?" He asked gently, still wondering what had just happened. 

Suddenly the person jerked himself free of Mario's grip. "Quick! After them!" He yelled before taking off running through the crowd, his dog bounding ahead of him. Mario and Kirby blinked, glanced at each other, shrugged, and started to follow the running human.  
  
--------------------  
  
The morning sun peeked up over the horizon, its rays piercing the purplish smoke that had filled the air. The smoke was all that was left of several carnivorous birds that had tried to attack him last night--he hadn't had the time or the patience to deal with them in any other way except slash away and forget about them. They'd fallen at every swipe of his sword, cawing their distress as their bodies dissolved. He hadn't noticed or even cared. His focus had been completely on the building ahead of him.

  
He'd arrived at the building and entered it to find the two fast asleep. With some difficulty he managed to rouse them enough to support them back to the inn, where they promptly entered their appropriate rooms and collapsed in exhaustion upon their beds. He didn't bother them any further after that, but had simply left them alone the rest of the night.

  
Now, as he sat on the steps leading up to the inn's entrance and watched the sun rise up over the ranch walls, he grinned as he saw Epona in her usual place in the stables. Somehow, Epona always managed to get into Lon Lon Ranch and into her stable every night when it got dark. He never knew how she did it, but he honestly didn't care in the end as long as she was safe.

  
He walked over to her, and she neighed in greeting. He waved and greeted her back, stroking her mane affectionately. "How you doin', girl? Didja have fun last night? Huh?"

  
She nuzzled against him in reply, sniffing at the odd smell of bird on his clothing. He laughed at this. "Hey, kn-knock it off, you s-silly horse! Th- that tickles!" He reprimanded in between laughs.

  
Epona stopped her sniffing and nuzzled him again. He sighed in relief and hugged her back around her thick neck, still slowly stroking her mane. She put her chin on his shoulder, her way of asking him to let her out of the stables. He smiled and pulled away from his horse. Kneeling down, he quickly found the sliding latch that locked Epona's stall shut and unlatched it. Then he opened the short door at the front of the stall, letting his horse out. She trotted out casually and, with a mischievous twinkle in her eye, began sniffing at him again. The combination of surprise at this action and weakness from laughing so hard served to make his legs unable to support him. He stumbled backwards and fell back onto his rear. Did this stop Epona, though? Nope. She simply leaned her head down and continued the merry torture on his prone form. He couldn't stop his laughing this time in order to scold her, and she took this to be encouraging and started sniffing all the more harder. He laughed and giggled hysterically, trying at the same time to somehow escape from her. But Epona would have no such thing. She kept up the steady stream of poking and sniffing so he could have no opportunity to get away.

  
Finally the horse stopped. She gazed at him amusedly as he lay on his back, exhausted from laughing so hard. He eyed her with only a slight touch of amusement on his own face. "You really are terrible sometimes, you know that?"

  
Her playful gaze gave him all the reply he needed as she suddenly reared up, and leaped over him to go running out into the pasture. He rolled over onto his stomach and slowly got to his feet to go after her. Out in the field, she neighed a challenge. "Oh, so ya wanna play rough, huh?" He replied with a grin. He raced out after her, and she took off running obligingly, beginning their game of 'Tag'.  
  
--------------------  
  
  
Ironically, another game of 'Tag' was taking place in Dreamland at that moment. However, the stakes of this game were much deadlier than the version Link was currently playing.

  
Pikachu ran like a scared yellow rabbit, taking no notice of what he went through or over as he frantically tried to lose his pursuer. He didn't know that the pursuer in question had locked onto his scent and could track him down even through the most complex of obstacle courses, and his mind was too filled with panic to think about it much anyway. 

His body acting purely on instinct, Pikachu turned to race down a side alley and took a brief look behind himself. His attacker wasn't there. He skidded to a stop in front of a rusty brown dumpster, panting for breath. He must've lost the Thing in the city crowds.  
Above him, the dumpster creaked. His senses suddenly screamed for him to move. Lightning-quick, Pikachu dodged without thinking to one side as his attacker pounced on the spot where he had been resting a moment before. The Pokèmon gave a startled yell and took off again as the pursuing animal began to follow.

With a yell, something came flying out of the shadows at that moment....

  
--------------------

"Holy....." Kapi gasped.

In a clearing ahead of her stood Jacob, the excitable young Koopa who'd warned her of the attack. He was crouched in an attacking stance, facing the scene before him with a determined expression and his spear tightly gripped between his hands. Around him lay the limp bodies of the other guards-whether they were unconscious or dead, She couldn't tell. At the clearing's opposite end stood the attackers. Slowly they turned, gazing silently at her and Jacob with their blazing red eyes.

Kapi slowly brought her spear up into an attack position. Things didn't look good.....

With a war cry, Karl charged forward. One attacker focused on him for a couple moments before meeting the Koopa head-on in a charge of its own, ramming Karl in the stomach. Karl dropped to the ground gasping for air, and the attacker prepared to drop onto him and crush him.

"NO!" Kapi yelled, lunging away from where she'd been standing and thrusting her spear into the attacker's side. It gave an animalistic squeal of pain and jerked away, taking Kapi's spear with it.

The other attackers surrounded her and Karl…..

--------------------

  
"Stop! Wait! Slow down, you stupid cat!"

  
He was running full-tilt through the large crowds of knee-high Dreamlanders, sometimes knocking them out of the way, other times merely jumping over them. He didn't take the time to yell apologies, and instead left that task up to the human and Dreamlander who were following him. His eyes were riveted on the small green speck in the distance that he knew to be his cat. He couldn't lose it now!

  
His dog was running ahead of him, barking madly with the thrill of the chase. It was having the time of its life right now. Well, at least one of us is happy with this turn of events, he thought grimly.

  
The yellow thing his cat had been chasing turned into a side alley. He raced after it, turning the corner just as his cat pulled off its ambush. With a cry he lunged at his pet before it could move from where it had landed.  
  


--------------------

  
Pikachu was still running when he heard the yell. His curiosity made him look behind himself just as a human grabbed his pursuer around the middle in a perfect football tackle, throwing them both to the ground. The green thing that had been chasing him started snarling, scratching, and hissing in fury, angry after having been cheated of its prey. Luckily for Pikchu, the human held it firm despite this. Finally the cat stopped struggling with a low growl and moodily began swinging its tail back and forth.

  
The human was breathing heavily from the long chase. Making sure he had a good grip on the cat, he carefully got up. His dog wanted to go sniff at Pikachu, but the human made sure to keep a tight hold on its leash so the dog couldn't reach the Pokèmon.

  
Mario and Kirby ran over at that moment. They hadn't been running as fast as the human had been and were thus not nearly as exhausted as he was. The human held his cat close to him lest it try to make a break for it. The cat eyed Pikachu with a look close to ravenous hunger, but remained silent.

  
The human waved at the plumber and Dreamlander, still too breathless to speak. Both parties waited until the pet owner got his breath back. A few seconds later, and he could once again talk normally. The human finally noticed Kirby, and his eyes widened. "Hey, you're Kirby, aren't you?"

  
Kirby grinned. He was pretty well-known around these parts. "Yup, the one and only."

  
"Oh, wow," He breathed, "I've heard SO much about you!" The human almost dropped the cat to go over and shake the Dreamlander's cone-arm, but stopped himself just in time. "It's a real honor to finally meet you in person. My name's Rock." He suddenly noticed Pikachu come over and quickly hide behind Mario's legs. "Er, sorry about what happened back there, by the way."

  
Pikachu peeked slowly around Mario's feet at the human and his cargo. "Pikipi cha kachu PIKA pichu! Piki apu papi chaka?!" (Jeez, that thing almost KILLED me! What the heck is it?!)

  
Rock looked down at the cat in his arms. It had fixed Pikachu with a killing gaze and was slowly starting to drool. He tightened his grip slightly in case the animal attempted another escape. "This guy? He's my cat, Tango. He can be rather...impulsive...sometimes. I think he thought you were a mouse, sorry."

  
"Pikachu KA pi chapa!" (I AM a mouse!)

  
"Oh." Rock coughed, embarrassed. "Well, er, that would explain that, wouldn't it?"

  
Rock's dog made another attempt to sniff at Pikachu. Pikachu switched his gaze from the human to the canine, smiling uncertainly upon seeing the dog's curious intentions. "Piku cha capi…?" (And this is…?)

  
"Oh, that's my dog. His name's Rush." 

Slowly, cautiously, the Pokèmon emerged from his hiding place to let the dog study his scent. Rush sniffed frantically at Pikachu for a moment before barking softly and wagging his tail with a big doggy smile. Rock grinned. "I think he likes you."

  
Mario was currently whispering something to Kirby. The Dreamlander nodded, and Mario straightened up with a hopeful look in his eye. "Say, are you that Real who's staying here in this city?"

"Village," Kirby corrected. Mario gave him a sideways glare.

  
Rock eyed the plumber carefully before replying. "I am. And you are?"

  
"Someone in the same boat as you. My name's Mario." Mario stuck out his hand, but Rock politely declined the handshake, as his arms were full of cat. Mario nodded. "I'm another Real who got stuck here by accident. I'm planning on helping Kirby here fix Dreamland so I can get back home, but before that I was wondering if you could help me out with something."

  
Rock nodded. "Go on," He prompted.

  
"I was wondering if it would be possible," Mario began, " to force Reals who are dreaming to start seeing the true Dreamland."

  
Kirby looked at Mario in surprise. "Mario, I thought you wanted--mmmpphh!" He was muffled as Mario suddenly placed a hand over his mouth, silencing him.

  
Rock hmm'd. "Well, I don't know. What with Dreamland the way it is now, it might be possible."

  
Mario looked even more hopeful. "Would you know how to do it?"

  
Rock gave Mario a suspicious glance. "You aren't seriously planning on trapping someone here, are you?"

  
Mario nodded vigorously. "I sure am! There's someone in Reality who's an enemy of mine. I need to make sure he doesn't do anything unpleasant in the waking world while I'm here."

  
"Unpleasant?" The human asked with raised eyebrows.

  
"Like stealing my girlfriend, taking over my home kingdom, causing mass destruction, et cetera. You know, villainous stuff." Mario blushed very slightly. He couldn't believe that he had just referred to Peach as his 'girlfriend'. He took his hand off Kirby's mouth finally, and the Dreamlander gave him a mock-glare of anger.

  
Rock blinked. "Oh. Um. Well." He thought for a moment. "It could be done, I suppose. Let's go back up to my hotel room-we'll talk more there."

  
"Pakia chupi…kacha packu pupu chu?" (Good idea…but where's your hotel room?)

  
The group looked around themselves, suddenly realizing that the chase had led them into a different part of the city. "Um, I don't know." Rock admitted.

  
Kirby looked up at the buildings around them. They were on a street corner at the intersection of two nearly identical roads. "We're on Bubblebiscuits Boulevard. That's quite a few blocks away from your hotel, Rock." He identified immediately.

  
Mario blinked at the Dreamlander. "Wha? How can you tell?"

  
"I live here." He replied simply. He started walking back in the direction from which they had come. "C'mon, you guys. The hotel's this way." The others quickly followed, with Rush in the lead.  
  
--------------------  
  
"No, no, no, a thousand times NO!!"

  
The lavish, immaculate room was in complete chaos. Any item that wasn't bolted to the floor or on fire was currently being picked up and thrown by the raging tornado of berserker fury that was Princess Peach. Pillows, lamps, chairs, mirrors, shoes, drawers, and various other pieces of furniture littered the area haphazardly in some state of ruin.

  
"But princess!" The tiny Koopa Troopa messenger pleaded while ducking various items. "His highness King Bowser insists that you wear it to dinner tonight! Please calm down!"

  
From somewhere within the tornado a furious voice screamed, "I WILL NOT WEAR THAT THING ANYWHERE!!!"

  
The Koopa Troopa looked critically at the sleek black jumpsuit he held in one hand. "But it's not as if it looks THAT bad, Princess..."

  
The tornado suddenly paused, and several items in the midst of being thrown fell to the floor. Standing there was a red-faced Peach, breathing heavily with apoplectic fury written all over her expression. "That horrible excuse for a piece of clothing is nothing like what a proper princess should wear! It's not dignified! I'm a lady, not some...some sort of......_slut_!" She finally burst out. "Besides, I HATE BLACK!!!" The tornado resumed with enhanced anger. "I am NOT going to wear that, EVER, no matter WHAT! And you can go tell 'his highness' King Buttface that, TOO!"

  
The messenger was finally forced to either retreat out of the room or risk being clobbered by flying debris. With a faint squeak of fear, he chose the former and slammed the door shut behind him. In the hall outside, the sounds of objects hitting the walls were still audible. He fled from the terrifying noises as fast as he could, praying that Bowser's punishment for his failure would be less deadly than facing the Princess' wrath.  
  
--------------------  
  
Luigi awoke staring at a ceiling. It was a rather familiar ceiling, he thought. He got the impression that he'd looked at it quite a few times before. He lay for a few moments staring at the familiar ceiling before he turned his head to scan his other surroundings.  
  
He was back in his room. Sunlight slanted through his window to splatter over the area in a display of golden color. Everything seemed normal. No scary noises coming from downstairs, no monsters jumping out to greet him. All was quiet and peaceful. He sat up.  
  
Stretching and yawning, he wondered how long he'd been out. He decided that it had been a long time, considering that he'd fallen asleep in the middle of the night and it now appeared to be mid-afternoon outside. He walked over to the window and poked his head out. Nothing out of the ordinary around there. He could see Link out in the horse pasture with Epona, and Malon watching them off to the side. With relief he noted that neither of them sported any serious injuries after last night's ordeal.  
  
Deciding that he would go join them outside in a little bit, Luigi walked over to the shower. Last night had caused him to get absolutely filthy, and he felt the desperate need to get clean before doing anything else.  
  
Thirty minutes later, Luigi exited the shower feeling much better than before. He unfolded a pair of backup work clothes that he always carried with him. It's good to be constantly prepared for dirty experiences if you're the brother of Mario, he reflected as he put them on.  
  
Speaking of whom, where was Mario, anyway? He ought to be up by now…  
  
Luigi exited his room in his spare clothes and walked over to where he knew Mario's room to be. He knocked politely on the door. "Mario? Hello? Mario, are you awake yet?"  
  
No answer. Luigi began to get slightly nervous. He tried the doorknob. Locked, of course. Luigi knocked harder. "Mario! Mario, can you hear me? It's Luigi! Open the door!"  
  
Still, no answer came. Luigi tried to force down panic, struggling to keep himself from thinking about the possibility that the monsters had done something to Mario last night. Perhaps they'd kidnapped him, or hurt him so badly that he couldn't get to the door, or…no! He mustn't think about it!  
  
Luigi began banging his fists upon the door full-force. "Mario, open up! MARIO!!" He yelled.  
  
Silence.  
  
Somewhere in the back of Luigi's mind, it occurred to him that he should go ask Malon for a spare key to this room so he could get into it. But at the same time, Luigi knew that he couldn't leave his brother alone to a possibly horrible fate, not even long enough to go get Malon. The green plumber became filled with the urgency to get inside that room. Aw, to heck with the room key! He'd have to find another way inside…  
  
Luigi began to concentrate. Mario had once told him that he'd somehow permanently acquired the powers that Fire Flowers usually gave him, through repeated exposure to the fiery plants. Luigi had been exposed to Fire Flowers around just as much as Mario. Could it be possible that he'd acquired them, too?  
  
Fire Flowers were a mystery, even among the natives of the Mushroom Kingdom where they grew. With petals seemingly made out of literal red flames, the plants were supposed to somehow provide magical powers to whomever plucked them. In the case of Mario and Luigi, this was the ability to unleash fiery energy from their hands in the form of fireballs. Mario had now permanently gained this ability. Had Luigi gained it as well?  
  
Luigi closed his eyes tight in concentration and made the usual flicking motion with his wrist that usually produced a fireball when he was under a Fire Flower's effects. It was to his immense surprise (and growing relief) that he heard the familiar sizzle of burning energy that accompanied a fireball's creation. He opened his eyes.  
  
In his hand Luigi held a bright green ball of energy. It pulsed and glowed eerily with a rhythm that was almost hypnotic, and if you squinted your eyes while looking at it you could detect a faint field of greenish energy surrounding the hand that was holding the fireball. With newfound determination, Luigi hurled the flaming projectile at the door to Mario's room. The fireball hit with a solid smacking sound, instantly setting the wooden edifice aflame. Within moments, there was no sign at all that the door had ever existed save for a small pile of ashes lying in the doorway and a blackened, burnt doorknob fixture that rested on top of it. Luigi jumped over the remains and rushed into Mario's room, calling out his brother's name all the while.  
  
Mario was lying on his bed, motionless. For a moment Luigi paused, wondering. Had Mario merely been sleeping this entire time?  
  
Deciding to press his luck, Luigi walked up to his brother's bedside and tapped him on the shoulder. When this enticed no reaction from the plumber, Luigi began shaking his shoulder. "Mario?"  
  
Still nothing. If not for the steady rising and falling of his chest, Mario might have been mistaken for dead. Luigi began to shake harder. "Mario! Get up! Wake up! Come on, stop fooling around!"  
  
Mario did not stir, even when Luigi tried hitting him lightly on the head. Luigi's fears were confirmed. Those monsters last night must've done something to Mario that was preventing him from waking up. What if he was in a coma or something?  
  
Luigi ran to the window in a panic. Sticking his head outside, he yelled, "LINK! MALON! HELLLLP!!"  
  
  
--------------------  
  
  
"Okay. We're here!"  
  
They stood in the lobby of the hotel around half an hour later. Kirby hadn't been kidding about how far away the hotel was; they'd had to walk several blocks before arriving here.  
  
Rock cast a sideways glance at the desk clerk, who was eyeing his companions suspiciously. "It's okay, Cid. They're with me."  
  
The desk clerk nodded and went back to his business, still looking at the newcomers out of the corner of his eye. Rock led them out of the lobby and to a flight of stairs that they went up. At the top was a long hallway that was lined on either side with doors. Rock directed them over to one of these.  
  
"Let's see," Rock muttered while digging around in his pockets. "I've got my room key here somewhere…aha!" He pulled out a flat white card with a barcode, and slid it into a slot in the door just above the handle. There was a beep, and they heard the door unlock.  
  
Rock opened the door for them. "Come on in." The others followed him inside, and the door swung shut behind them.  
  
Mario was surprised at how similar this room looked to the one he was currently sleeping in, in Reality. The bed even seemed the same, except it had a different spiral design on it. He mentioned this to Kirby, and the pink ball whispered an explanation that Dreamland's inhabitants often used building techniques, cooking recipes, and other parts of cultures from the dreams of Reals, if they seemed more effective or easier than the methods the Dreamlanders used otherwise. In this case, they had copied the (highly effective) Hylian design for hotel rooms and beds.  
  
"Interesting…" Mario muttered.  
  
Suddenly everyone in the room heard a deep rumble that vibrated the walls and floor. They looked around for the source, then finally at Kirby, who was smiling sheepishly.  
  
"That was my stomach. Sorry."  
  
Rock cocked his head at the Dreamlander. "Hungry, huh? That's okay…I've got some food around here somewhere…" He turned from them, walked over to a suitcase placed on top of a table next to the bed, and called out. "Over here. Hang on a sec and I'll get it for you, I've kinda got my arms full right now..."  
  
Tango had begun struggling to escape and catch Pikachu again. Rock gritted his teeth and attempted to restrain the irate feline as Tango yowled his displeasure at being held against his will. Rush began barking in a reprimanding tone at the cat, and Tango hissed right back at the dog. The next thing anyone knew, the two animals were suddenly caught up in a verbal argument that nobody else could understand.  
  
While Tango was distracted with Rush, Rock got out a lengthy piece of chain and hooked it to Tango's collar so the cat couldn't get away again. Then the human looped the other end around one leg of the bed and hooked it to the chain's middle, and finally dropped Tango. The famished feline immediately made a dash for Pikachu at the room's other end, but the bed it was tied to was sturdy and wouldn't be giving it any slack any time soon. Tango growled and gnashed his teeth, clawing at the restraint that was keeping it away from its rightful dinner. Eventually it gave up on trying to escape and sat back on its haunches, staring at Pikachu hungrily and silently daring him to come over to this side of the room.  
  
Of course, Pikachu would be doing no such thing. He hid behind Mario's legs again and peeked out at the feline fearfully.  
  
"CHAKAU CHU KAPI PICHU! KAPA!!" (IT'S GONNA EAT ME! HELP!!)  
  
"It's all right." Rock reassured the terrified Pokèmon. "As long as he's tied up, he won't be able to get to you."  
  
Pikachu peeked out from behind Mario's shoes a little more. "Pika chu?" (You sure?) Rock nodded, and the Pokèmon visibly relaxed. "Pakia…" (Good…)  
  
Rock turned to the single suitcase on top of the bedside table and unzipped it. "Now, to food! Let's see here…what do you guys want?"  
  
"What do you have?" Kirby replied while walking over to stand next to the human.  
  
"Um…everything, just about. Name something."  
  
"A three-foot radius pizza. With the works."  
  
Amazingly, Rock actually pulled the requested food item out of the suitcase and handed it to Kirby. The Dreamlander inhaled it immediately. "Mmmm! Yummy!" he sighed after swallowing it. "Could I have another?"  
  
Rock shrugged. "Sure." Another pizza just like the last one was brought out and handed to Kirby. Once again, the Dreamlander inhaled it and swallowed without bothering to chew. Kirby patted his stomach. "Ahh, delicious! That was an excellent appetizer!"  
  
Mario was staring at Kirby again. The little Dreamlander never ceased to amaze him. Rock seemed used to this size of appetite, though, because he pulled Kirby's next order out without complaint.  
  
Pikachu stared as well, his eyes huge with disbelief. For the first course, Kirby had ordered twelve prime ribs, eleven steaks (grilled medium well), fourteen Caesar salads with dressing, eight double bacon cheeseburgers with everything, ten catfish fillets, twelve chili dogs, another three-foot- radius pizza, and three cases of soft drink cans for a beverage. Mario tried to figure out how all of this food managed to fit inside the small suitcase that Rock was getting it out of, but doing so made his head hurt. He was too stunned to dwell on it for very long, anyway.  
  
Kirby had moved on to the second course, which included everything from the first course multiplied twice. The Dreamlander was inhaling the food as fast as Rock was pulling it out, so in a few minutes they had finished.  
  
"Now," Kirby began while licking his lips, "for dessert."  
  
"Hold it!" Mario interrupted. "Kirby, how the heck could you eat all of that? Better yet, how the heck could you eat all of that and STILL BE HUNGRY?!?"  
  
"Don't forget that Dreamlanders have big appetites, Mario!" Kirby reminded him.  
  
"Well, yeah, but…!"  
  
"And when I said 'big', I meant 'around as big as Dreamland'."  
  
Mario gaped. "Gaaaaah…"  
  
"Anyway, as I was saying," Kirby resumed, "to dessert! I'll have a banana split double fudge sundae with granola and a cherry on top, two whole cheesecakes, fourteen chocolate milkshakes, five apple pies, two cherry cobblers, a three-layer vanilla cake with chocolate frosting…" The list went on and on. Mario and Pikachu didn't utter another word of protest for the rest of the meal, having been stunned speechless by the display of the Dreamlander's colossal appetite and bottomless stomach.  
  
At last Kirby stopped rattling off food items and leaned back against the wall happily. Rock turned to the room's other awestruck inhabitants.  
  
"Anybody else want anything?"  
  
"I…I…I think I'll just have…some lasagna." Mario mumbled out at last, naming the first Italian dish that popped into his head. Rock handed the requested pasta to Mario on top of a white plate, along with a fork and a knife. The plumber blinked and accepted the food, gazing at Rock curiously as he got out some Pokèmon Food for Pikachu.  
  
"Rock," he asked between bites, "how could you fit all that food inside that suitcase? For that matter, how could you have known what we would want to eat so you could pack it in there?"  
  
Rock shrugged. "I didn't."  
  
Mario's gaze implored him to elaborate, so he continued.  
  
"What's really inside this suitcase is a special mechanical device that allows the user to alter energy into various forms. In this case, it used air particles for its fuel source."  
  
Mario, Pikachu and Kirby all gazed at him blankly.  
  
"It allows you to create food out of thin air." Rock clarified.  
  
"Ah." Mario and Kirby understood. Pikachu merely nodded.  
  
"Pretty cool, Rock!" Kirby echoed the thought on all their minds. "Where'd you get it?"  
  
"Um…a…friend of mine gave it to me. He's an inventor."  
  
"Pika capi chupa?" (What's his name?)  
  
"Dr. Light." Rock replied shortly while re-zipping the suitcase. He didn't seem to eager to explain any further on the subject, and the others didn't push him to do so.  
  
Rock turned back to his guests. "Okay!" He exclaimed while clapping his hands together. "You wanted to talk about trapping an enemy in Dreamland, correct?"  
  
Mario nodded. After gulping down his food, he replied. "Yeah. His name is Bowser. Would you know how to do something like that to him?"  
  
Rock sat on the edge of his bed and thought for a long moment. Finally he answered. "Yes, and no. I've been studying Dreamland's behavior recently...and it might be theoretically possible to do something such as what you're asking. But nobody's ever tried it before, so I'm not sure if it'd work or not..."  
  
He paused. Mario impatiently tried to prompt him further. "Go on! How does it work?"  
  
"...well, in order to do so, you must be inside the dream of the Real that you'd want to trap. If you're inside the dream and somehow convince the Real that he or she is dreaming and are in Dreamland, then that Real might stop dreaming and see Dreamland's true form. Of course, this would only work if you could get the Real to actually believe what you're telling him or her."  
  
Mario stood silently for a moment, chewing his pasta and mulling this thought over in his mind. "Well, that shouldn't be so hard to do." He spoke at last. "I've already encountered one of Bowser's dreams, anyway."  
  
"Mario, wait a second!" Kirby jutted in. "You don't understand just how large of a place Dreamland is! Bowser's dreams could occur anywhere, and the idea of you somehow stumbling into another of them in a kingdom this large isn't just insane, it's stupid. If you can find another of Bowser's dreams during your whole stay here, I'll eat your hat!"  
  
Mario suddenly clamped his hands down over his cap in a protective impulse. "Like heck you will!"  
  
Kirby grinned. "Okay, okay, maybe I won't eat the hat. Although it looks awfully tasty now that you mention it…just kidding, just kidding!" He quickly amended when Mario shot a deadly glare at him.  
  
Mario sighed and gave the Dreamlander a firm look. "Kirby, I refuse to believe that any kingdom could be as big as what you're describing. If this planet were as large as you make it sound, then the gravity would be astronomical..."  
  
"But Dreamland isn't restricted to just this planet!" Kirby interrupted.  
  
Mario stopped talking in mid-sentence. "Come again?"  
  
"Dreamland is a kingdom that is spread out over dozens of galaxies and planets, not just this single one. The planet you're currently standing on is named Floria, and it's hardly a comparison in size to the entire kingdom! Bowser's dreams will probably occur on another one of Dreamland's planets or galaxies entirely, and you will have absolutely no hope of finding another of them again unless you just so happen to be at the exact right spot when the next dream takes place."  
  
To the surprise of everyone in the room, Mario gave in to his mounting frustration and slammed a fist into the wall. The force of the blow shook the room almost as much as Kirby's growling stomach had. Cracks spiderwebbed away from the point of impact, making chips of paint fall to the floor. "Damn! Kirby, why didn't you TELL me this sooner?!?" He growled.  
  
Kirby blinked at Mario's fit of anger, and slowly backed away from the seething plumber. "Um...I didn't really think it was that important." He admitted. "Although, in retrospect, I guess I should have told you anyway......sorry, Mario." He said this last in a mumble, unable to meet the plumber's gaze.  
  
Somehow, Mario actually seemed to calm down a great deal. "Ah, it's all right, Kirby. I'm not really mad at you, anyway. I'm mad at Bowser. He's got free reign out there, doing who-knows-how-much chaos, while I'm stuck in here unable to do anything..." Mario paused. "...on second thought, I think I'm maddest at whatever's wrong with Dreamland." He clenched a fist. "Man, if someone's messed up this kingdom on purpose, I am SO going to beat the living crud outta him..."  
  
Rock placed a sympathetic hand on Mario's shoulder. "Hey, don't worry about it. You'll be able to get back to Reality soon enough."  
  
"I hope so." Mario sighed. "Well, so much for that!" He shrugged. "I came here hoping you could help me, but now I guess we'd better be moving on..."  
  
Rock looked back and forth between the three travelers. "Let me come with you." He suddenly spoke up.  
  
All three looked at him. "What?" Kirby asked.  
  
"Let me come with you, please!" Rock repeated. "I've been stuck here for a really long time and I'd sure appreciate it if I could finally help myself get home. I was planning on setting out to help fix Dreamland myself in a couple days anyway. And now that Kirby's here, I'd love to help him out with another one of his adventures."  
  
Mario blinked. "But, what about all your luggage? And your pets, what will you do with them? Heck, are you really even that good at fighting?"  
  
Rock grinned. He turned to the suitcase and seemed to talk to it. "Okay, Eddie, you can cease camouflage now!"  
  
To the amazement of Mario and Pikachu, the suitcase actually shimmered and faded away to reveal a short, robotic creature. It had two short legs and a crown-shaped top, and in its front two large round eyes blinked at them. The entire thing was painted a bright fire-truck red.  
  
"Meet Eddie, robot #1070 of the FlipTop design. He's a special traveling companion that I can call on in and out of battle to bring me items and stuff. Think of him like a walking, sentient suitcase."  
  
Eddie crouched his knees in a strange version of a bow, and the others waved back.  
  
"As for Rush and Tango..." Rock walked over to Rush and reached down to the dog's collar. On the collar's underside there was a hidden button that nobody had noticed there before. Rock pushed it. Suddenly Rush's fur shimmered and disappeared, to be replaced by shiny red armor. Rock repeated this procedure with Tango, and the cat's fur was replaced by green armor plating.  
  
"They're robots." Rock confirmed their thoughts. "Dr. Light built them for me some time ago to help me battle an evil mad scientist named Dr. Wily. I can call them via radio signal and they'll automatically teleport to my location to help me out, just like Eddie. I can use Rush to fly for short distances, whereas Tango can be used as a projectile weapon." As if on cue, the cat curled up into a nearly perfect green ball. Once it had done so, dozens of tiny sharp spikes protruded from its body, making it look like a round porcupine. "The spikes can be launched as their own projectiles, too." Rock added. Tango uncurled from his ball position, and the spikes disappeared as if they'd never been there. Then it went back to staring at Pikachu hungrily.  
  
"Let me guess," Mario muttered under his breath. "You're a robot too, aren't you?"  
  
Mario thought he'd spoken too softly to be overheard, but Rock surprised him by answering. "Yep." Rock pressed another hidden button underneath his left wrist, and a bright flash of white light engulfed his body. When it had faded and spots had stopped dancing in front of Mario's eyes, he could see that Rock had become clad in dark- and light-blue armor, as well as in a round blue helmet. Rock pounded a fist onto his chest, and the dull clang of metal colliding with metal filled the room.  
  
"When I was originally built, Dr. Light had intended for me to be his lab assistant, and named me Rock. But then his partner Dr. Wily suffered a mind- altering lab accident that turned him evil. Soon afterward, Dr. Wily stole a group of prototype robots Dr. Light had been planning on manufacturing globally, and reprogrammed them to try to help Wily take over the world. At this point Dr. Light upgraded me to have armor and weapons systems, so as to try and combat the insane doctor. (This uniform that you see here is one of those upgrades, in fact.) It was at this point that Dr. Light decided to give me a new name to fit my new appearance, so I was thusly re-dubbed 'Mega Man'. I succeeded in destroying the robot prototypes and ruining Dr. Wily's plans, but the doctor himself somehow managed to escape. Ever since then I've been fighting him and his creations in order to bring him to justice.  
  
"But just recently, while I was doing my usual re-charging routine during the night, I suddenly found myself stuck in Dreamland. Normally robots aren't supposed to dream, but since Dreamland's so screwed up lately, I guess I'm an exception. Shortly afterwards, when I tried calling Rush, Tango, and Eddie to my side, they were unable to teleport back home afterwards like they are normally supposed to. I eventually realized that the four of us were stuck here, so I started travelling until I came across this town. I've been staying here ever since."  
  
"When I'm not in my armor like this, I prefer my old name to my new one. But when I'm in Battle Uniform, call me Mega Man instead, okay?"  
  
"Cocky, aren't you?" Mario remarked. "I mean, we haven't even granted you permission to join our group yet, and you're nonetheless acting like you're already in it."  
  
Kirby cut off an argument before one could begin. "It's okay, Mario. I'll be glad to let him accompany us. Heck, we could use all the help we can get, anyway."  
  
"Okay, fine. But you never did answer my third question, Ro- I mean, Mega Man."  
  
"You mean, the one about my fighting abilities? Heh, I think you need a demonstration of what I can do. Here, everybody grab hands! I'm gonna teleport us to someplace more...suitable."  
  
When everyone was touching each other except for the animals, Mega Man reached over and pressed a button on his arm. In a flash of bluish light, the entire group disappeared.  
  
  
--------------------  
  
  
Peach finally stopped her tantrum once she was sure that the hapless messenger Koopa was too far away to hear her anymore. She sat down on her bed in a huff and crossed her arms angrily. The NERVE of that Bowser! How dare he attempt to give her advice on what she should wear!  
  
For a couple minutes Peach continued to sulk, until something about the door the messenger Koopa had left through caught her eye. She got up off the bed and moved closer to inspect it further. What she saw almost made her laugh out loud.  
  
The Koopa that had left earlier had forgotten to lock the door after leaving, leaving her completely free to escape.  
  
Not wanting to waste such a perfect opportunity, Peach rolled up the sheets underneath her bedcovers to make it look as though she was asleep under them. Then, ever-so-quietly, she creaked the door open and crept out into the hall.  
  
It was time for the Mushroom Kingdom to strike back for once. And at that moment she felt like the perfect candidate for the job.

--------------------


	7. Chapter Six: The Great Escape

The Crossover Saga  
  
By Stoney (stoney107@yahoo.com)  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter Six  
  
The Great Escape  
  
  
  
  
  
A whisper, almost inaudible, disturbed the heavy silence.  
  
"Daisy! Psst! Hey, Daisy!"  
  
Somewhere within the black void, something stirred. A click joined the whisper in its conquering of the quietness, and light suddenly sent the darkness scurrying into the shadows. Daisy sat at her bed, hand still wrapped around the light switch. "Hello? Is someone there?" She called loudly.  
  
"Ssh! Keep it down!" The voice whispered fervently. It seemed to be coming from the other side of the door to Daisy's room. "Daisy, listen to me. It's Peach. I got out of my room and want to know if you'd like to escape with me."  
  
Daisy's reply was heavily sarcastic, but at least this time she kept her volume to a minimum. "No, I'd much more prefer it if I remained stuck here forever, thanks."  
  
Peach ignored the remark. "Okay, then. I'll get you out in a minute, so hang on."  
  
The door to Daisy's room was secured by a massive metal padlock. At its top, Peach noticed, there was a keyhole. She stared at it blankly for a couple seconds, wondering how in the world she would get it open. Her eyes darted around her immediate area, half-hoping that whomever had locked the door was careless enough to have left the keys lying around. Finally her eyes spotted a heavy suit of Koopa-shaped armor set up on display nearby, complete with an old-fashioned, sheathed sword. Staring at the ancient weapon, Peach got an idea.  
  
Assuming that the suit of armor wouldn't be needing it any time soon, she relieved it of the sword and its sheath, strapping it onto her own back instead. She held the blade in both hands, observing the unfamiliar coldness of it against her palms and lightly running a finger along its edge to verify its sharpness. She gave a few practice swings, testing the weight and feel of it, until she was pretty sure she could swing it hard enough to serve her purpose.  
  
"Okay Daisy, I need you to stand away from the door, okay?"  
  
A whisper to the affirmative from beyond the door met her ears, and she nodded.  
  
Peach eyed the padlock, aimed carefully, closed her eyes, and let the sword swing.  
  
CLLAAANNGG! Instead of slicing the padlock into two separate pieces, as Peach had intended, the sword bounced right back off the dense metal in a fit of vibrations. Peach's balance was overthrown by the recoil and she stumbled backwards straight into the suit of armor. She couldn't keep her grip on the violently shaking sword, and it fell to the ground with a sharp CLACK as she collided with the armor's feet. The armor lost its balance and began to sway back and forth above her precariously. Peach looked up at the unbalanced armor with the wide eyes of a deer caught in the headlights of a moving car. Letting instinct take over, she scrambled out of the way as the several hundred pounds of steel and metal came crashing forward to collide with the door to Daisy's room. Aged wood cracked and splintered, and the door broke away from its hinges under the weight. The resulting sound from both the door and armor crashing to the floor, Peach later decided, was probably loud enough to wake the dead.  
  
Daisy raced out of her room through the now-vacant doorway and over to where Peach was picking herself up off the floor. "Well, so much for leaving here quietly." She muttered. "They're bound to be wise to us now…"  
  
As if reading Peach's thoughts, alarm klaxons simultaneously went off throughout the fortress. The sound was high-pitched and intense, creating a deafening racket that pierced their eardrums and stabbed directly into their brains. Both princesses yelled and covered their ears, but the noise refused to quiet down.  
  
Peach was about to make a tactical retreat through the castle's corridors, but stopped before doing so to pick up the forgotten sword from where it had fallen on the ground nearby. She might need this later, she mentally decided as she sheathed it. Then she grabbed Daisy's hand.  
  
"C'mon! Let's get the hell out of here!" Peach yelled over the shrill wail of sirens. Daisy readily agreed, and both princesses ran for their lives.  
  
  
  
  
  
"What's wrong with him?"  
  
"I don't know. I found him like this. He won't wake up…"  
  
"This doesn't look like any sort of magic I've ever seen."  
  
"Well, it's not like you're a magic expert, Fairy-Boy."  
  
"Malon, will you PLEASE stop calling me that?!"  
  
"Okay, Fairy-Boy."  
  
Link sighed irritably. "Look, I think I've battled enough magic-wielding monsters to know what spells some can cast and what spells they can't. And no monster I've ever seen was able to cast a sleeping spell like this one. Least of all Moblins…they're by far the worst magic-users I've ever messed with!"  
  
"Well then, in that case, what's wrong with him?"  
  
  
  
Link, Malon, and Luigi were all crowded into Mario's room, puzzling over the sleeping plumber and trying to determine why he refused to awaken. All three of them were stumped as to the cause.  
  
"You don't suppose he's in a coma, do you?" Luigi suggested tremulously.  
  
"Naw, he'd have some mark on his head if that was what had happened." Malon replied.  
  
"Maybe he got knocked out by something?" Link guessed.  
  
Malon shook her head. "How? There was nobody around here to knock him unconcious. Unless you're suggesting he knocked himself out on purpose." Malon looked at Luigi steadily. "Are you sure he isn't just a very heavy sleeper?"  
  
Luigi shook his head. "Not even Mario could sleep this long. I've known Mario my whole life, and I know that he would normally have woken up by now after some of the things I did to try and make him." The others didn't bother to ask what these deeds were.  
  
"Well, I don't have a clue." Link admitted while drawing away from where he'd kneeled by the plumber's bedside. "There doesn't seem to be anything wrong or abnormal with him at all. I can't even detect a spell around him that would keep him from waking up. He's just…asleep. Naturally."  
  
"But he won't wake up."  
  
Link shrugged. "He probably will, eventually. Right now, though, I think we should just let him rest. Trying to investigate this further may just worsen the problem."  
  
"I agree." Malon spoke up. "There isn't anything we can do for him at this point, anyway."  
  
Luigi sighed. "Oh, alright. If you're sure he'll be okay…"  
  
"He will be," Link assured him, "but this might put a kink in our plans……until Mario wakes up, I doubt that he'll be able to leave the safety of Lon Lon Ranch."  
  
"Which means it might be forever before we get home!" Luigi despaired.  
  
"Now hold on, I think you're exaggerating." Link replied. "At worst, we'll probably be set back a couple weeks or less. That's all." Link paused for a moment. "All hope isn't lost, however."  
  
"What do you mean?" Malon asked curiously.  
  
"Well, even if we can't wake Mario up, that doesn't mean that one or two of us couldn't go looking for someone or something that could help him and Luigi get home."  
  
"Well, Mario definitely won't be going anywhere." Malon agreed. "Howabout you, Luigi?"  
  
Luigi suddenly looked nervous. "Me? Go out there? ALONE?? Uh…um…"  
  
"Heck no! You'll be with me!" Link grinned. He walked over and gave Luigi a good-natured clap on the shoulder. "So, whaddaya say? Care to come with?"  
  
"Well…I…"  
  
"Great! I knew you'd agree! Malon, help me go pack our stuff; we're leaving tomorrow!"  
  
"Righto, Mr. Fairy-Boy sir!" Malon agreed with a mock-salute and a smile. Then she dashed out of the room before the pillow Link had thrown at her could collide with her head.  
  
  
  
  
  
The entire group-save for Rush, Tango, and Eddie-materialized in an open field. Mario recognized it as the one he'd found himself in when he first came to Dreamland. Off in the distance, the bizarre forest began. They were standing next to one of the few trees that were growing in this empty plain. Mario blinked and looked at Mega Man, wondering why he'd sent them here.  
  
Mega Man returned the look with a cocky smile. "Just watch."  
  
Watch what? Mario wondered.  
  
All eyes were now on the blue robot. Mega Man nodded to the group, then turned to face the tree. "You guys might want to back away a little bit before I do this."  
  
Not bothering to question the blue robot, the group members did as they were told.  
  
Mega Man didn't even bother to turn around and check on the group, somehow not needing to. All at once a bizarre white glow surrounded his right hand. Mario watched in complete awe as the hand abruptly morphed from a normal humanlike appendage into a circular, oval-like tube with a glowing red hole at the end.  
  
Energy began to visibly gather into this hole. As it did so, the glow at the tube's end became brighter and brighter, seemingly charging up for something.  
  
Abruptly the energy ceased to accumulate in Mega Man's arm. Mega Man then raised the arm, aimed its end at the tree, and released the energy.  
  
A massive bluish-white fireball erupted from the end of Mega Man's arm, knocking him back a couple feet from its recoil. Mario squinted his eyes at the blinding projectile. It looked like it was made up of several long, snake-like energies wrapped around each other into a shape similar to a comet, complete with a shimmering "tail" flowing along behind it.  
  
The cometlike fireball collided with the tree, enveloping it in a bright flash of light.  
  
Mario blinked. He must be seeing things. He rubbed his eyes, trying to correct the image. One moment, the tree had been there. The next, it was gone. Only a slightly smoking brown crater marked the spot where it had once stood. Mario blinked again several times, trying to will the tree back into existence. It didn't work.  
  
Pikachu was the first to speak up following this display. "Pa cha kaka pi chu?!" (What the hell was that?!)  
  
"That," Mega Man replied with a slight bow, "is why they call me MEGA Man."  
  
Pikachu's expression was devoid of understanding. "Pa?" (What?)  
  
Mega Man proudly held up the ovalike arm as it morphed back into a hand. "This is called my Mega Buster. It's a highly advanced plasma ray gun that can charge up to be even more powerful by collecting specific atoms from the atmosphere into itself."  
  
"But how does it do the…um…switch-thingy?" Mario asked.  
  
"You mean like this?" Rock asked, switching from his hand to Mega-Buster and back again. Mario nodded.  
  
"Matter converted to energy and then converted back into matter again." Mega Man shrugged. "It's simple physics, really."  
  
Mario cocked his head at the obviously very advanced robot. He knew little about the kind of physics Mega Man seemed to be referring to, but nodded as if understanding anyway. "Oh. Okay."  
  
Mega Man suddenly seemed to hear something. He turned around and pointed over to the distant forest. "Look over there, guys. We're about to have touchdown!"  
  
The group did as they were told, wondering what the robot could mean. Their answer came a moment later as a distant black speck came carreening down out of the sky, trailing flames and tiny black dots that floated down to the ground similar to leaves in the wind. With a deep vibrating rumble that the whole group could feel through their feet, the object crash-landed in the middle of the forest.  
  
Kirby gazed, awestruck. "The tree?" He asked Mega Man quietly.  
  
Mega Man nodded. "The tree. Full power would have disentegrated it on the spot, but I only charged up enough to give it a good whalloping. In this case, it was a trajectory to beat all home-run pitches ."  
  
"Oh, wow." Mario muttered. "Hey, Mega Man? At any time in the future that I get mad at you, do me a favor and remind me about this, okay? It'll help calm me down…"  
  
Mega Man grinned. "Okay, will do."  
  
"So! What say we get going, then?" Kirby asked eagerly. "Hey Mega, can your teleporter take us to the location of Dreamland's problem?"  
  
Mega Man slowly shook his head. "Sorry, but it can only transport us to locations that we've been to beforehand."  
  
"So what?" Kirby argued. "I've been everywhere in Dreamland! It should work regardless!"  
  
Mega Man suddenly started laughing. "Gee, I hadn't thought of that! Okay, let's give it a shot. Grab hands, everybody!"  
  
Mario reluctantly grabbed Mega Man's right hand, sparing a side glance at the tree's newly-vacated spot and repressing a shudder.  
  
Mega Man slid open a panel on his left arm to reveal six buttons arranged in a square. "Let's hope this works." He muttered, too quietly for the others to hear. He pressed one of the buttons.  
  
The group was enveloped within a bright flash of cyan light. A moment later, not a trace remained of their prescence once being there.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Get down!"  
  
Peach pulled Daisy to the floor and around the corner as a group of Koopa Troopas marched by in row formation. The princesses waited breathlessly until the sounds of marching footsteps couldn't be heard anymore. Daisy let out a shaky breath. "Oh wow, Peach. I didn't even see them until they were right on top of us!"  
  
Peach seemed rather shaken herself. "I didn't, either. I heard them." She repressed a shudder as her imagination began supplying images of what might have happened if she hadn't done so. "C'mon, let's get moving."  
  
  
  
The princesses were hopelessly lost within the sprawling recesses of Bowser's Domain. To make things worse, the entire castle had been put on high alert since their escape. Now all of the Koopas, Goombas, Lakitus, or other troops within the castle's interior that weren't dead or unconscious were all searching for them. This wasn't the first time they'd hidden from Bowser's soldiers, and it definitely wouldn't be the last.  
  
Peach slowly peeked around the corner. She ducked her head and whispered, "Okay. All clear."  
  
Together the cousins got up and began running. They'd been running for hours, Daisy realized. Man, she was SO sick of running! She mentally decided to take out her anger on the next hapless Troopa they encountered.  
  
They arrived at an intersection. Oh great, another one. Daisy thought sarcastically. Crud.  
  
Peach stopped running, trying to catch her breath. "Well…what now?"  
  
Daisy had never been known for her calm demeanor. She'd always been something of a loose cannon, especially when she found herself under pressure. Like right now.  
  
"Aw, heck with it!" She burst out. Randomly she chose one of the hallways. "Come on!" She grabbed Peach's hand and yanked her off her feet in her rush to get going.  
  
"Agh!" Peach yelped as she stumbled and fell to the floor. Daisy suddenly found herself being yanked backwards and down by her grip on her cousin's hand. Both of them abruptly wound up piled on top of each other.  
  
"Gack! Get off me!"  
  
"Ow! Stop pulling my hair!"  
  
"Hey, watch the dress!"  
  
"Get your shoe out of my face!"  
  
After a few minutes of this, one of them suddenly stopped moving and went rigid. "Wait! Ssh! Listen!"  
  
"Umf! Listen to what?"  
  
"Hush! Be quiet and you'll hear it!"  
  
Both princesses paused their struggle. Silence resumed, only to be quickly broken by the noise of a faint, far-off rumble.  
  
Boom.  
  
Both princesses gasped simultaneously. "Oh, crap." Daisy whispered. Peach muttered something very unladylike before finally managing to get up off Daisy. "C'mon. We need to get out of here…"  
  
Daisy didn't need to be told twice. She was on her feet quick as a flash. "Great. But which way do we go?"  
  
Both of them peered around at the identical corridors uncertainly. The faint rumbles seemed to be coming from every direction at once. "I don't know…" Peach finally admitted.  
  
Boom…  
  
Boom…  
  
Peach began to panic. "It doesn't matter! Let's just PICK one already!"  
  
"Alright, fine!" Daisy started to run for the tunnel she had chosen earlier, with Peach following close behind.  
  
Almost immediately they encountered a group of Koopa Troopas. "Ack! Wrong way! Go back, go back!" Daisy cried.  
  
The duo executed a perfect 180 degree spin and ran back the way they had come, choosing one of the other tunnels instead. "Hurry!"  
  
The sharp patter of marching feet signaled that the Koopas had seen them and were in pursuit. Peach cast several panic-stricken glances over her shoulder as they ran. The amount of Koopa Troopas following them was surprising; apparently they had stumbled on one of the larger squadrons. Their numbers filled the corridor. They were still a distance away, but they were gaining. Peach mentally urged her legs to move faster.  
  
Boom...  
  
BOOM...  
  
The princesses rounded a corner and found a brick wall to greet them. "%#&$, dead end!" Daisy yelled.  
  
Peach searched the wall frantically, hoping against hope that there was still some way out of this situation. Her eyes located a small, insignificant-looking grate down near the floor on the wall. She showed this to Daisy. "Do you think we could fit into it?"  
  
Daisy cast a glance back down the hallway at the approaching Koopas. "It doesn't matter! Let's try it!"  
  
Daisy not-too-gently wrenched the grate away from its opening and ducked her head inside. She came back out to report that the grate opened up to some sort of drainage tunnel. Then without any further conversation, she slid herself into it feet-first.  
  
"Daisy! Wait!" Peach yelled, torn with indecision. "Ooh, I'm going to regret this later." She muttered as she slid herself into the opening similar to how Daisy had done so. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she pushed herself inside.  
  
To her dismay she found that the drainage tunnel began to slope downward at a steep angle almost immediately after the entrance. Without any warning Peach was suddenly sliding down the perfectly smooth tube without any way to stop or slow herself down. She screamed, and the reverberating sound followed her for the entire flight down.  
  
  
  
Static.  
  
All around him. Everywhere. Where was he?  
  
Oh wait, his visual sensors were offline. Maybe, if he rerouted power to his self-repair systems...  
  
Ah yes, that was better. Now he could see.  
  
He was in an unidentified landscape. This is not where he had been a moment before, he realized. He played back the recorded data for the past few minutes. He had been on normal patrol. His radar scans had picked up a peculiar spacial anomaly a few kilometers to the right of his current patrol area. Curious, he had started to investigate it.  
  
When he approached the area, he suddenly found himself being bombarded by a primitive array of weapons, including spears and throwing knives. He'd sought shelter behind a large outcropping of rock...  
  
...and a brilliant flash of light overloaded all his sensors, while a thunderous boom shorted out his auditory input. Static for a few moments, and then he was here.  
  
Where was 'here', though? He activated his jet thruster and smoothly glided forward without touching the forest floor. Who needed to walk when he could fly? Being a robot had its advantages.  
  
He began to explore. He was apparently within some sort of forest. Trees towered up on either side of him. He pondered for a microsecond whether he'd been transported into the Great Forest. He quickly cast aside the idea. He knew what the Great Forest looked like. It was only a couple hundred years old, with its tallest trees only reaching around 30 feet in height. The forest he was currently in was far older, with trees hundreds of meters high. He did a brief scan over one of the thicker trees nearby and noted with some slight astonishment that it was nearly five centuries old. No, this was definitely some other foreign locale that had yet been undiscovered by himself. He silently marveled at this. How could such an expansive and ancient place have escaped his notice for so long?  
  
He looked around himself constantly as he flew, recording as much information as his memory banks would allow. His boss would definitely be intrigued by this, that was for sure. A tingling sensation around the sides of his chromium skull informed him that his self-repair systems had finished stabalising his auditory sensors. A moment later data began streaming in from those sensors to be recorded in his memory banks as well. Birds chirping. Branches creaking. Typical forest sounds, he admitted. Still, the visual data should be enough to impress his master anyway.  
  
Movement. His head snapped around in the direction of the disturbance. Sensors that could hear a spider crawling up a wall detected a faint rusting in the bushes somewhere off to his left. With barely a thought he switched to infrared vision. Yes, two lifeforms were watching him from a rather large bush there. Friend or foe? He decided within the space of a picosecond to wait and let them make the first move before judging where their loyalties lie. Pretending that he had not yet detected them, he continued to silently fly inbetween the massive tree trunks. The lifeforms began to follow him.  
  
After several minutes showing no difference in their behavior, he finally got fed up. Turning off his booster, he settled down to the forest floor and turned to face where the lifeforms were. He activated his voice synthesiser and output speakers.  
  
"Come out from hiding, organisms. I know you are there." He spoke. Silence answered him. No movement came from the organisms' hiding place. He waited half a minute before taking matters into his own steel hands.  
  
With about as much thought as an average person gives to stepping on the sidewalk, he raised his right arm and activated its built-in laser blaster function. A small barrell of a cannon appeared above his wrist and fired a massive red beam of deadly energy at the tree which the organisms had chosen to get behind. A flash of light, an explosion of emitted energy. Within half a second a brown crater stood where the tree had beforehand, a faint cloud of smoke slowly curling up to the sky above it.  
  
Directly behind it stood two childlike humans in green clothing.  
  
He was stunned by this. All humans had been thought extinct from his planet long before he had been built. Could it be possible that he'd stumbled upon a surviving pocket of the species?  
  
Slowly the children uncovered their faces from where they'd shielded them from the tree's destruction, allowing him to get a good look at them. They certainly looked similar enough to his master's accounts of human children. However, their ears seemed a bit too long. That didn't matter too much though, because everything else about them checked out perfectly.  
  
As soon as the children had realized their cover was blown, they leaped to their feet and began yelling at him in an unknown language. He made a valiant attempt to understand their babbled phrases, consulting his extensive library of known languages. None of them matched, and he was at a loss to understand them. He attempted some form of communication nonetheless. "Greetings, humans. I am Mecha Bot #02, commonly referred to as Metal Sonic. Please state your identities and buisness."  
  
Upon hearing this request, the two humans instead abruptly turned and fled into the dense forest. He began to follow, but the massive trees around him disrupted his scans. He was unable to keep track of the two and they quickly disappeared altogether.  
  
He was, once again, alone. 


	8. Chapter Seven: Darkstar

The Crossover Saga  
  
By Stoney (stoney107@yahoo.com)  
  
  
  
Chapter 7  
  
Darkstar  
  
  
  
"Okay, let's review. We're stuck in Bowser's castle; the entire Koopa Troop is at our heels; Bowser himself could well be on his way here as we speak; and now we're wandering knee-deep in sewage. Did I miss anything?"  
  
Peach grunted irritably. "Be quiet, Daisy. It was your idea to take the drainage tunnel in the first place." She shoved aside another nameless piece of junk floating in the stagnant water around them and continued to wade forward.  
  
"Yeah, I know. It's just that you'd expect Bowser to have a cleaner sewer, ya know?" Daisy grumbled while scanning their surroundings in disgust.  
  
Peach laughed mirthlessly. "Are you kidding? His two worst enemies are plumbers, for God's sake. I doubt he'd give them the satisfaction of clean pipes."  
  
Daisy felt herself step on something squishy within the water and pulled her foot out of the muck to look at it. "Hmm. Good point."  
  
The two princesses had found this wretched location for all the garbage in Bowser's castle waiting for them at the end of the drainage tunnel, much to their collective dismay. Currently they were travelling through it in the hopes of finding an exit, but their hopes were quickly being diminished the longer they stayed there. Peach was making an active effort to not think about what the ooze was doing to her clothes. Daisy, however, was hardly trying to conceal her feelings.  
  
"Yecch! This is horrible!" Daisy complained as she picked at the grime that was covering her legs. Peach gritted her teeth and remained silent, although she was tempted to agree with her cousin. The garbage pit had to be at least half a mile long, with them at the far end. It could be hours before they got out of here at this rate, and she didn't think she could stand this place's smell for that long.  
  
She clenched her fists. No matter, they'd keep going. If they gave up, she knew Bowser would try some other boneheaded way of getting her to like him. The idiotic Koopa wouldn't be able to take a hint if she hit him on the head with a mallet and read one to him! SHE-WAS-NOT-INTERESTED! You'd think that even someone as dense as him would get the message after this long, but nooo, he refused to give up on her. She couldn't tell him her feelings flat-out while she was stuck in his castle surrounded by his guards; that'd be suicide. But she absolutely, positively REFUSED to go along with whatever it was he wanted her to do. Arrgh, life was being so annoying to her lately!  
  
"For once, I wish I could stay at home at least a month without something like this happening." Peach muttered under her breath.  
  
"You and me both, cousin." Daisy agreed.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
"Alive without breath;  
  
as cold as death;  
  
never thirsting, ever drinking;  
  
clad in mail never clinking.  
  
Drowns on dry land,  
  
thinks an island  
  
is a mountain;  
  
thinks a fountain  
  
is a puff of air.  
  
So sleek, so fair!  
  
What a joy to meet!  
  
'tis but a wish  
  
to catch a fish  
  
so juicy-sweet!"  
  
Bowser didn't know where the poem came from, or how it popped into his head, but he rather liked it. He mulled over the rhyming lines in his head, pondering their meaning. Oftentimes one could catch him in a thoughtful mood like this when there was something important on his mind. And indeed, there was definitely something very important for him to think about that day. The troops had not told him or Kamek about the princesses' escape yet, for the main reason that they were absolutely terrified of what he and the Magikoopa might do to them for punishment if they found out. Because of this, he still was under the impression that Princess Peach and Princess Daisy were all nice and cozy in their respective rooms.  
  
No, his thoughts were on other things besides his Little Princess that day…  
  
Ludwig's invention had been a success, as testified by the frozen figure encased within a block of ice which now adorned the far wall of his room. He smiled grimly as he gazed at the individual. It had formerly been one of Bowser's chief antagonists before he got fed up with it and used it as the test subject for Ludwig's cryogenic freezer. Now the Koopa King could sit and look at the slightly surprised expression on his vanquished enemy's face at any time he needed some sort of ego boost.  
  
Bowser grinned sardonically and shook a fist in the direction of the ice block. "That's right, pal! You don't mess with ME and get away with it! Ha! See where all your fighting against me has gotten you! It would have been easier on both of us if you'd simply surrendered. After all, you knew you couldn't beat me."  
  
He stood up from his 'thinking couch' and walked right up to the block, gazing hard at the figure inside. "Why did you try to fight me, then?" He continued. "I never planned on hurting you. Yet you deliberately helped that plumber -" he spat the word like it was something foul-tasting - "and ruined all my glorious plans, forcing me to retaliate against you.  
  
"Had you simply cooperated, everything would be fine and you wouldn't currently be 'chilling out' in my office. What force possessed you to go against me? Against all odds, and without the experience to do anything more than simple mischief?" He paused, as if waiting for an answer. Of course none would be forthcoming, but he didn't really expect a response anyway. He studied the face of his prisoner. It still seemed to hold some trace of defiance in its expression. Bowser was secretly impressed that anyone could go through what this one had and still have spirit burning within them at the end. No wonder this person had escaped his capture for so long beforehand.  
  
"You are such a pest, you know that?" He chuckled. "But now your days of pestilence are over! It is truly sweet irony that one of my greatest foes will now serve me as a wall ornament, forever! BWA-HAHAHA!"  
  
Bowser finished his rant, blinked twice, then abruptly turned around to lumber back over to his thinking couch, turning his thoughts to other topics. The being in the ice block took no notice of him, continuing to simply stare straight ahead as it always had before.  
  
Bowser sat back down on the 'couch', ignoring the protesting groan it made. Unless he was greatly mistaken, it was almost time for Kamek's report…  
  
The sound of pattering footsteps grew loud outside his office. Ah, right on time!  
  
Kamek burst into the room, breathing heavily from running all the way there. Bowser gave him a puzzled look as he noticed the absence of the Magikoopa's normal mode of transportation. "Where's your broomstick?"  
  
"Garbage." Kamek panted. Bowser's expression clearly requested more information, so he continued.  
  
"Some idiot Troopa accidentally threw out my broomstick with the rest of the garbage from my quarters." He elaborated bitterly. "It was tossed into the junk pit in the basement and hasn't been seen since. The troops are currently carving up a replacement, but meanwhile I have to walk everywhere."  
  
Bowser nodded slowly, then got down to buisness. "Report."  
  
Kamek stood up straight, as if attempting to pass a surprise inspection. "The operation is running smoothly, sir. We had a bit of trouble in the fifth sector when an unidentified intruder attempted to infiltrate the base, but now it's been taken care of. Other than that, there has been no trouble at all. I estimate that at this rate, we will reach completion in the next three to five days."  
  
"Excellent!" Bowser boomed. "Things are working out better than I could have hoped! Continue work as normal, and keep me updated as to any progress."  
  
Kamek bowed low. "Yes, your highness." Without another word he exited the room at a run.  
  
Bowser gave a pleased sigh. The frozen figure on his wall caught his eye again, and he grinned at it evilly. "Just you wait. In a week, I will be more powerful than I ever have been before! Then I shall crush everything you hold dear underneath my heel!!" With that he burst into gleeful laughter that nearly shook the walls of the fortress.  
  
  
  
  
  
"HALLLP! SOMEBODY!! AHHHH!!!"  
  
The screams shattered the peaceful early-morning quiet into billions of pieces to be scattered and lost in the gentle breeze. Birds leaped away from their perches in the trees, scared off by the loud sounds. Within a small meadow in the forest, someone looked up angrily at the sound.  
  
Two tiny humans in green clothing were running up out of the forest, screaming their heads off. She stood up and quieted them with a single motion. "Mido! Dore! What in the name of the Deku Tree are you doing?! You ruined my song!" Holding up the ocarina she had been playing moments before as testament to this, she glared at the two Kokiri standing before her. Mido was the self-proclaimed 'boss' of the Kokiri and bully to some of them; while Dore was the eldest of the Know-It-All Brothers. Both were well known for their pranks and practical jokes, and both now stood in front of her panting breathlessly.  
  
The two were unable to speak due to loss of breath from yelling so much. Angrily she waited for them to recuperate, tapping one foot on the ground impatiently. "Well?"  
  
"There's…a monster…in the woods!" Dore got out at last. "We…saw him!"  
  
She rolled her eyes. "Right guys, and I'm a Gerudo. There's been no monsters in the Lost Woods since forever! Who do you think you're fooling?"  
  
"It's no joke, Saria!" Mido burst in, a note of panic in his voice. "It used a red light to destroy one of the tall Redoaks that we were hiding behind! Come on, we'll show you!" He turned around and began running back the way he had come, beckoning to her all the way. Dore ran after him. Saria sighed, shook her head, and began to follow the two. "If this is another prank by you guys, I swear I'll have your hides for this…" She muttered under her breath.  
  
  
  
  
  
The gang touched down in a bleak, desolate landscape. Dark gray clouds rolled overhead, barely letting enough sunlight through to see by. There were no landmarks to see for miles, save for some large rocks jutting up out of the ground here and there. The entire setting looked desolate and ruined.  
  
Mario blinked and looked around himself. "What the-?"  
  
"Aw swell," Kirby groaned, "We teleported straight into someone's dream!"  
  
Mega Man cocked his head amusedly at the Dreamlander. Kirby was now in the form of a pink rabbit wearing a brown shirt and pants. He even had a set of long pink ears that bounced around whenever he moved. "Gee, Kirby, I think your new form is an improvement!" He joked.  
  
Kirby looked at himself and groaned. "A RABBIT?!" He protested. "Of all the lame, ridiculous…"  
  
"Hey, at least you're better off than me!" Another voice suddenly jutted in. It came from a short, squat creature standing next to them. Dressed in bulky metal armor, it had the face of a pig, with two tusks jutting up on either side of its snout. In its hands it carried a spear.  
  
Mario blinked at the unfamiliar creature. "Who are you?"  
  
The creature rewarded him with an irritated stare. "It's ME, you idiot! Pikachu!"  
  
Mario blinked again, before it occurred to him that Pikachu probably had different vocal chords in this new form. "Oh. Whoops, sorry. I guess I've gotten a little too used to you speaking in Poke language."  
  
The Pikachu-Moblin snorted. "That's okay."  
  
Mario nodded and looked at himself. He was now a raccoon dressed in his normal blue overalls and red shirt. He even still had his red cap on his head. Suddenly he began laughing.  
  
"What's so funny?" Kirby asked.  
  
"Well, it's just that…on one of my adventures, I was able to use special leaves to grow raccoon ears and a tail. I guess that now I've simply completed the transformation!" He began laughing again. "And there's something else, too! Watch this!"  
  
Mario began running away from the group at high speed. When he reached around twenty mph, he held his arms out to either side horizontally. Then something wholly remarkable happened.  
  
Mario's tail began spinning around in a circle. Faster and faster it spun, until it wasn't much more than a blur. When this happened, Mario leaped skywards.  
  
Kirby waited for Mario to fall back to the ground again. He didn't, however. In fact, he continued to rise higher into the air. The group gasped. Mario was using the tail exactly like a helicopter blade to produce lift, and was using it to fly.  
  
Mario soared back to where his three companions were gazing awestruck at him and laughed at their expressions as he landed next to them. "I can only fly for short distances, mind, but it's still a cool effect. Don't you agree?"  
  
"Heck yeah!" Kirby exclaimed. "You know, I can do something similar to that by sucking in a whole lot of air, but I don't think it'd work in this form…"  
  
"Yeah, better not try it." Mega Man agreed. He was a humanoid wolf dressed in a plain blue shirt and matching shorts. Even his eyes were blue-colored. He sniffed at the air and licked his lips, then turned back to the group. "So…whose dream is this?"  
  
Kirby shrugged. "Beats me. Although if the forms that you and Pikachu turned into are any indication, I'm guessing it's a Hylian."  
  
"You mean like Link?" Mario blurted out. The other three gave him confused looks. "Nevermind." Mario muttered, embarrassed.  
  
"How do you know about Link?" Kirby asked, surprised. Now it was Mario's turn to stare in confusion.  
  
"You know him?"  
  
"'Course I know him! He's the legendary Hero of Time, for Pete's sake!"  
  
Pikachu and Mega Man were glancing back and forth between the two perplexedly. "Umm, did I miss something?" Pikachu asked quietly.  
  
Mario waved away the conversation. "Just forget it." He peered around at the bleak landscape. "Geez, this place looks depressing. Where are we?"  
  
"I think I know…" Kirby began slowly. "I think this is Dark Land. It's a kind of alternate-universe Hyrule where everything is the opposite of what it should be normally. Think of it like Hyrule's evil twin."  
  
"What's a Hyrule?" Mega Man asked.  
  
"Hyrule is a kingdom where a race of people called Hylians live." Mario explained. "I visited there before getting trapped in Dreamland." He surveyed their surroundings. "I admit, this does seem like Hyrule's opposite. In the Hyrule I saw, there were plants and living things everywhere. Here, there's…nothing."  
  
Pikachu kicked at a small rock. "Nothing except stones."  
  
The landscape began to shimmer and waver. "Ah, there we go. The person who's dreaming this is waking up now." Kirby nodded. The entire landscape seemed to become transparent, almost wraith-like. Then it vanished altogether.  
  
Mario looked around himself. Things hadn't changed much. The ground was now colored jet-black, and the sky had an eerie blood-red tint to it. Other than that, it looked around the same as it had in the dream. "Umm...where exactly are we now?" He politely asked. He glaced at Kirby for an answer, but the Dreamlander didn't speak; he had turned a pale shade of white and was starting to tremble.  
  
"Oh, no....no, not here..." He whimpered.  
  
"What? What is it?" Mega Man asked the Pink Wonder urgently. "What's wrong? You seem scared out of your wits."  
  
Kirby swallowed audibly. "This...this is the planet Darkstar, one of the most evil places in Dreamland. It's said that every single nightmare anyone's ever experienced originated from this place." He suddenly seized Mega Man by the arm. "Quick! You have to teleport us back out of here! NOW!"  
  
Mega Man hesitated. "Umm, but you told me to teleport you guys to the source of Dreamland's problem..."  
  
"Yeah, so wha……oh." Kirby understood. "This place is the source?"  
  
Mega Man nodded slowly.  
  
"Oh @#$%." Kirby cursed. "We're in trouble."  
  
  
  
  
  
"Welcome to Kakariko Village, Luigi!" Link introduced the plumber with all the enthusiasm of a tour guide. "This place is one of the most peaceful settlements in Hyrule, and was one of the only places to have survived Ganon's evil in the past. We'll be able to find someone to help you and your brother here."  
  
They stood within the stone arch that marked the entrance to the town, taking in its surreal beauty. Far above and beyond the village rooftops, Death Mountain stood within its ever-present ring of smoke. The giant windmill that stood as the central edifice of the village was framed beautifully against the reddish glow of sunset, its arms ever creaking around in their ceaseless circle. People walked to and fro, busying themselves with their own affairs and only pausing for a few moments at a time to stare at the unfamiliar green-clothed human standing next to Link.  
  
Luigi took in the scene with relish. "It's beautiful…"  
  
Link glanced around as well. "It is rather pretty, isn't it?" He agreed. After a couple moments of sightseeing he began to walk into the village and beckoned for Luigi to follow. Reluctantly the plumber tore his gaze away from the scene and did so.  
  
"I know of a magic potion-maker that lives here. She might be able to assist you, and maybe even help Mario wake up." Link explained quietly. Luigi's hopes soared. "The trick is getting into her shop in order to see her. It's located behind a couple of the buildings and can only be entered through a back passage in one of them. Follow me, I'll take you there."  
  
Link walked quickly over to a set of stairs that led up a hill to one part of the town. He went up them at a run, taking them two at a time. At the top he made a beeline for one of the buildings. Luigi followed with little difficulty, until he got to the top of the stairs. There he was suddenly accosted by a haggard man in green robes. "Sir! Sir, please, do you have anything you could sell to me? Perhaps some food? Or a Skulltula spider? Please!"  
  
Luigi was rather unnerved by the man's desperate performance. Luckily, Link noticed his trouble and came to his rescue a moment later. "Stop it, Laftas. He has nothing for you to buy today." The man meekly let go of Luigi's sleeve and shrank back into the shadows from which he'd appeared, bowing his head submissively with the expression of a whipped dog. At that moment, Luigi felt a twinge of pity for this poor homeless soul. He stopped Link with a wave of his arm. "Hold on a second." He approached the poor shivering form in the corner. "Excuse me, Laftas."  
  
Laftas' head sprang up at the summons, but the hope that burned in his eyes extinguished as he saw who it was. Luigi again felt that twinge, this time stronger than before. He slowly reached into a pocket of his overalls, fumbled around a bit, then pulled out a gleaming gold coin. The coin caught the rays of sunlight streaming down over the mountains in such a way that it appeared to be set on fire. Luigi held out the coin to the beggar, whose eyes were as wide as dinner plates, and dropped it to the ground at his feet. "There you go. Go buy yourself some food, or some new clothes. There's no need to give me any money for it," He hastily added as the man began to reach into his coat for some Rupees, "consider it a gift."  
  
Laftas bowed down several times, joyful to the point of tears. "Thank you so much, sir. Your generosity is deeper than Zora's Fountain. I will never forget you or your kindness." With that Laftas quickly scooped up the gold coin and rushed off to one of the stores.  
  
Link watched the whole proceeding with a happy smile. When Luigi turned back to see him after Laftas ran off, he grinned and gave the plumber a double thumbs-up. "You did a good thing, Luigi. I usually try to help Laftas too, by giving him donations and selling him food for lower prices than the stores charge. But that hunk of gold you just gave him will probably be enough to buy him a house, or better." He walked over to Luigi and gave him a praiseful pat on the shoulder. "Now come on. Let's go see this potion-maker and get your brother fixed up."  
  
"Okay!" Luigi agreed. Link motioned him inside the store.  
  
Luigi looked around. The store didn't look like someplace that could house a magic potion-maker. A long desk stood in front of him, behind which stood the store owner and several shelves stocked with supplies. A cash register stood off to the right, while to the left a tough, burly man stood guarding a passage that went behind the store. The owner saw him and was about to bark a greeting when he noticed Link enter.  
  
"Hullo there Link! I take it you want to see Amora again, don't you?"  
  
Link nodded. "Yeah, and my friend here would like to see her too." He replied, indicating Luigi.  
  
The owner swept his gaze over Luigi for a couple moments, then finally nodded. "Agreed."  
  
The burly man stepped away from the passage he was guarding, allowing the two entrance. Link stepped through without a word, but Luigi paused for the briefest of moments, eyeing the man's enormous watermelon-sized muscles with more than a slight touch of nervousness. The man looked back at him, and he quickly hurried along after Link at a run.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
"What do you mean, 'we're in trouble'?" Mario asked worriedly. Kirby refused to respond, however. Mario looked at Mega Man, but he could offer no more information either.  
  
"Pu chi cha kacha aka pi." Pikachu spoke quietly. (He means that this place is dangerous.) Mario jumped slightly; he'd almost forgotten that the little Pokemon was there.  
  
Mega Man jerked his head up suddenly, seeming to look at something that the others couldn't see. Mario was pondering the idea of asking him what he was doing when he suddenly spoke up, "We've got incoming unidentified objects coming at us due east. I can see them on radar." Mega Man's eyes suddenly turned green. "Yeah, they're definitely some sort of lifeform. They're on infrared too." His eyes turned back to normal, and he looked at Kirby. The pink puffball seemed to be having trouble processing this information. He was staring straight ahead at nothing with wide eyes, completely ignorant of his surroundings.  
  
Mario picked up Kirby and shook him slightly to snap him out of it. "Kirby, there's something alive coming toward us. Do you know what it is?"  
  
Kirby's eyes grew even larger. He wiggled out of Mario's grip and dropped, feather-light, to the ground. "Quick, we have to get away from here! Come on!" He yelled, panicking.  
  
"Why, why, what's going on?" Mario asked, confused. Pikachu's fur suddenly stood on end and the Pokemon ran over to hide behind Mario's legs. "Hey! What is it Pikachu?"  
  
Pikachu was looking in the same direction that Mega Man had been. "Pikachu cha ku. Chipu ku paka kipu apaka…" (I don't know. There's something evil around here…)  
  
"Hey, wait up Kirby!" Mega Man shouted. The Dreamlander had taken off running without waiting for the others to catch up. Mega Man began to run after him. "Wait for us!"  
  
Pikachu bolted after Mega Man, and Mario followed behind. Many confused thoughts currently muddled the plumber's mind. There had to be something really evil here in order to scare Kirby that bad. During the short time that he had known the Pink Wonder, Mario had found him to have many different personality traits. But one thing Kirby didn't have was cowardlyness. He had always been rather brave, in fact. What was it, then, that was currently giving Kirby the heebie-jeebies?  
  
Mario caught up to the others at the base of a high cliff. The wall was flat and smooth, impossible to climb. Kirby was looking in every direction at once, fear and panic in his eyes. Mega Man was attempting to calm him down enough to explain what was going on, with little success. Dimly Mario grew aware that if they were attacked from behind, they would be trapped against the cliff face. He cast a cautious glance over his shoulder, did a double take, then yelled out in surprise.  
  
Standing a few feet away from him was a floating ball of black light. In the ball's center, an eye opened to regard him. The eye had a blood-red pupil. The thing didn't appear to have any appendages at all. He stared at the eye, and the eye stared back. Mario got the strangest feeling while he looked at the eye; a feeling of unexplainable, illogical fear. For some reason he suddenly wanted to run away, to hide, to get out from under that black orb's unswerving gaze. It held him frozen with fear, to the point where he couldn't move if he wanted to. He gasped and shuddered, every instinct screaming for him to run…  
  
Kirby saw the eye and froze like Mario. "Dark Matter.." He whispered.  
  
"Is that what that thing is?" Mega Man asked calmly. Nobody noticed him switch his right hand into Mega-Buster mode and quietly charge up. "Looks pretty ugly to me."  
  
The eye switched its view from Mario to Mega Man at that point. It seemed to be studying him, for some reason. If he'd been human, he might have grimaced in horror. As it was, he merely continued to charge his Buster while it watched.  
  
Full charge. Quicker than any organic creature could move, Mega Man whipped his cannon up to aim at Dark Matter and fired. Once again the comet-shaped fireball came bursting out to hit the creature dead-on in its eye. It gave a sudden pained squeal and evaporated on the spot.  
  
Mega Man casually blew some smoke off the barrel of his Mega Buster. "Whatever that thing was, superheated plasma seems to work pretty well on it. I take it that it was an enemy?" He asked Kirby.  
  
The round puffball heaved a huge sigh of relief and seemed to gain some of his courage back. "Thanks for doing that, Mega. Yeah, it was an enemy. It has some sort of special power that allows it to instill fear in people. It can also possess organisms. I think it was using its fear-effect on me just now so I wouldn't get in the way."  
  
"It was using it on me, too." Mario nodded and repressed a shudder. He glanced over at Pikachu, and for the first time noticed that the little Pokemon had fainted from fright. He was lying on his back, all four legs sticking straight up into the air, not making a sound.  
  
"Hey, Mega. How come you weren't affected by Dark Matter's fear-effect?" Kirby asked the robot curiously.  
  
Mega Man shrugged, then said simply, "I'm a robot. Maybe it doesn't affect machines."  
  
Kirby nodded. "Listen, that wasn't the last we'll see of Dark Matter. Heck, that was only one of his scouts. The real Dark Matter is made up of hundreds of those things, and will be coming pretty soon now. We have to get away from here to someplace better suited for battle, and now."  
  
"Pa chu!" (Too late!) Pikachu yelled. He'd apparently woken back up, and was now staring at a line of black figures approaching them from the horizon. Kirby cursed.  
  
"Wow, Kirby. I never thought you to be the profanic type!" Mega Man teased. He charged up his Mega Buster and released the shot towards the far-off line of Dark Matter. A flash of light and a sudden pained squeal indicated that he had hit one of them. "I say, bring it on. I could use a good challenge." After that he began to release a barrage of rapid-fire shots at the approaching Dark Matter army. The spray of plasma bullets rained down upon the black eyes like the first coming of the Apocalypse. Cries of pain and terror flooded through their ranks as their front lines evaporated from the assault. Kirby's confidence grew and began to conquer the fear-effect that the Dark Matter were using on him. He leaped to Mega Man's side and sucked up a nearby rock the size of a basketball. With a determined expression he spat it toward the decreasing Dark Matter forces at high speed.  
  
"Mega's right, you guys! We can beat them! Come on!" Kirby cheered. He began to suck up everything in the immediate vicinity besides the group members that he could use as a projectile. A hail of rocks of various sizes joined the superheated plasma in decimating Dark Matter. The remaining forces began to scatter in several directions, throwing off Mega Man and Kirby's aim. Mario stood behind the two, wondering what he could use. With a sudden inspiration he called upon the Fire Flower powers that he had permanently acquired. A glowing red fireball appeared in each of his hands. He yelled a triumphant war-cry and lobbed them both at the scattered Dark Matter. Wham! Two direct hits!  
  
Pikachu suddenly screamed out in terror, but his cry was abruptly cut off. The gang paused their projectiles and turned to look at the Pokemon. Pikachu was currently getting to his feet, but something was wrong about him. An ominous black glow was emanating from his eyes. Kirby gasped. "Oh, crud! He's been possessed!"  
  
The Dark Matter-possessed Pokemon grinned evilly at them. Electricity began to spark from its cheeks. Thunder rumbled overhead, its ominous presence aiding the almost-forgotten fear-effect.  
  
Kirby got a sudden idea. "WHEEL!" He yelled. A flash of light surged around his body and left the Dark-Matter Pikachu squinting and blinking. The light faded, and Kirby once again stood there. He was now a brownish color, but Mario couldn't see any other differences. Mega Man did a small scan over Kirby's new form and the results astounded him; the Dreamlander's entire body composition had been changed to over 90% rubber!  
  
Kirby grinned at the two and gave them a thumbs-up. Then he turned to the possessed Pikachu. "Release him NOW, Dark Matter!" He boldly commanded. The Pokemon merely shook off its fear and sent a bolt of electricity at Kirby. The Pink Wonder let the deadly current pass over his rubber body harmlessly, ignoring the gasp of shock coming from Mario's direction. The Pokemon grew puzzled. It shocked Kirby again. And again, without any results. Now the possessed Pikachu began to grow fearful. Kirby shrugged nonchalantly. "Fine. You asked for it." He began spinning in place, and his body color changed from brown to black. A yellow star appeared on his side and began spinning with the rest of him. When he had fully transformed into an exact replica of a car tire, he released the 'brakes' and spun at high speed towards Pikachu. The Pokemon yelled and tried to get out of the way, but by then it was too late. Kirby slammed into him doing seventy-five miles per hour. Pikachu went flying, and landed around twenty meters away, skidding to a halt and leaving a large rut in the dirt.  
  
"Hey guys! Look out!" Mega Man suddenly yelled. The other Dark Matter had been sneaking up on them during all of this. Mega Man once again went to work, spraying the dark orbs with plasma-fire. They evaporated in small puffs of smoke as the plasma hit them, but more were crawling out to face them by the second. Mario began to give the robot a hand with his red fireballs. Apparently Dark Matter liked the flaming projectiles as much as plasma; when one of them was hit with a fireball, it evaporated and left a small yellow coin lying behind in the dirt. Mega Man didn't notice this, but Mario sure did.  
  
Meanwhile, Pikachu still hadn't gotten rid of the Dark Matter that was controlling him. As Kirby began to near it, it yelled out.  
  
"PIKA!" (AGILITY!) In a sudden flash of light, the Possessed Pikachu was off and running, a cloud of dust in his wake. The remaining Dark Matter began to flee after him, dodging the last parting shots Mega Man sent after them as they raced away to be lost from sight. Finally Mega Man stopped firing and transformed his Mega-buster back into his hand. He shook his fist angrily in the direction Dark Matter had gone, but didn't say anything.  
  
Mario began to walk over to Kirby to ask if he was all right. Even as he did so, another burst of light went over Kirby and faded to reveal the Dreamlander in his normal pink self again. Mario shrugged and instead began picking up and storing away all the coins left behind scattered on the ground.  
  
Kirby walked over to stand next to Mega Man, looking at the point where Dark Matter had disappeared from sight. Eventually, Mario joined them, his pockets bulging slightly. "So what now?" He asked. "Do we go after them and rescue Pikachu, or do we investigate Dreamland's problem?"  
  
Kirby winced, indecision tearing at him. "I don't know. We really need to help save Dreamland, but I don't want things to get fixed and for Pikachu to go back to Reality while he's possessed! Anything could happen!"  
  
Mega Man confidently hefted up his Mega Buster. "Don't worry. Leave Pikachu to me-those things can't affect me emotionally, and my plasma shots seem to work pretty well against them. Here…" He pulled open a small panel in his chestplate and removed a walkie-talkie device. "I'll radio you guys when I'm through so you'll know it's safe to fix everything. In the meantime, you should find the problem's source a couple miles to the east of here. Go get it!"  
  
Mario nodded and took the proffered walkie-talkie. He looked at Mega Man with an expression bordering on sadness. "Well, then I guess this is goodbye." He began. "Once we fix Dreamland, you'll go back to your reality and I'll go back to mine…"  
  
Mega Man waved the sentiments off. "I know. I've only known ya for a short while, Mario, but it's been nice travelling with you. Maybe we'll meet again someday…after all, you never know when Dreamland might mess up again." He grinned.  
  
Kirby groaned. "Aw man, don't say that!" He smiled. "It's been nice knowing you, Mega. Good luck rescuing Pikachu!"  
  
"Thanks!" Mega Man opened a panel on his right wrist and pressed down on a button. "Rush! Come here!" He spoke into some sort of speaker. Almost immediately the red-armored canine beamed down beside them in a red flash of light. Mega Man looked at him and rubbed the dog under his chin affectionately. "Hey, boy! Ya ready to go for a ride? Huh?"  
  
Rush began barking and jumping in place excitedly. Mega Man stood up and shouted a command. "RUSH JET!"  
  
Immediately Rush undertook one of the most astounding transformations Mario had seen yet. The canine's feet and legs folded up until they were horizontal to the rest of its body. Thrusters folded out on its bottom and rear, allowing it to float in the air. In less than ten seconds, Rush had become a fully functional jet-propelled platform. Mega Man hopped onto the Rush Jet's back, gave Mario and Kirby a small smile and wave, and flew off in the direction Dark Matter had gone.  
  
Mario and Kirby waved back, and watched until the tiny blue and red speck they knew to be their friend was lost from sight. Mario flicked on the walkie-talkie he was holding. "Testing, testing." He spoke into it. "Can you hear us there, Mega?"  
  
"Loud and clear, guys!" Mega Man's voice came crackling through. "This thing has a pretty long range, so you should still be able to talk to me when I catch up with Dark Matter. In the meantime, you ought to stop just standing there and start moving!" His voice could still be heard carrying a faint note of teasing in it, even at that distance. Mario grinned.  
  
"Okay, will do! C'mon, Kirby!" Both the Dreamlander and the Plumber began running east towards the problem's source, as the robot had indicated.  
  
  
  
  
  
Luigi coughed and hacked until he felt like his lungs would burst. The strange fragrances and mists that clouded the interior of the Potion- Maker's shop had never really bothered Link before, but they were wrecking holy havoc on the plumber's sinuses. Luigi's eyes watered as he choked and sputtered. The smells were so strong…he couldn't breathe…  
  
"Luigi, I'd like you to meet Madame Amora, the Potion-Maker of this village." Link introduced Luigi to the thin, shrivelled-looking woman that leered at them from behind the counter. Luigi couldn't help noticing through his blurred vision that Amora was missing quite a few teeth.  
  
"Hello, welcome, welcome!" Amora cackled. "You have need of my potions? One drop cures all!"  
  
"Yes. We'd like a potion for…" Luigi was suddenly overcome by a coughing fit.  
  
"Hmmm. I think my new assistant ought to have a look at you, dearie!" Amora eyed Luigi intently. "You look rather sickly, do you not? Yes, I think he ought to give you a check-up. No extra charge, of course…" She suddenly called back into the depths of the store behind the counter. "Oh, Doctor! We've got another patient for you!"  
  
"Well, who is it this time?" A strangely familiar voice asked. "I'm very busy, Amora. I think I've nearly figured out a viable cure for the common cold…" As the voice spoke, someone walked out of the store depths and around the counter to stand next to Luigi and Link.  
  
Both the plumber's and Hylian's eyes bulged. Luigi gasped and sputtered in shock instead of from the fumes. The person standing before him was dressed in an immaculately white medical outfit, and a stethescope hung swinging 'round his neck. But to Luigi, there was no mistaking the face of the doctor that stood in front of him.  
  
"Mario?!" 


	9. Chapter Eight: Reality

The Crossover Saga  
  
By Stoney (stoney107@yahoo.com)  
  
  
  
Chapter 8  
  
Reality  
  
  
  
  
  
Mario and Kirby huddled together in the lee of an enormous boulder, sheltering themselves from the ferocious winds that whipped mercilessly about them. Long ago they had given up talking; no noise was audible over the roaring air. Nature must have something against them, Mario decided. Maybe he should plant more trees...  
  
Mario motioned that he was going to try and take a look over the boulder. Kirby shook his head frantically 'no.' But Mario just gave him a determined expression and stood up.  
  
Immediately the wind hit him in the face like a sledgehammer, forcing him back a couple feet. He grabbed the rough sides of the boulder to keep from being blown away, and strained to see through the powerful gusts.  
  
Beyond the boulder that he and Kirby were using for shelter was a spectacular white marble fountain. It floated maybe 10 feet above the ground, ornately engraved and narrowing to a point at its base. Spilling out of it was a softly glowing liquid that seemed so alike yet unlike water. At first glance he thought it was polluted, since it was multi- colored. But then he realized that the liquid was naturally that way. He couldn't see the top of the fountain, it was so high up...  
  
There was something moving beyond the fountain...dark gray shapes against a light gray background. Something was glowing green near the shapes, but he couldn't make out what it was. The wind was tearing away his breath, preventing him from breathing. His eyes watered. He couldn't look for much longer...  
  
The wind's direction changed. Suddenly it was coming at Mario from behind, shoving him over the boulder toward what was happening up ahead. Mario was taken completely by surprise at this turn of events. The wind howled around him and lifted him up off the ground as though he weighed nothing. Only his grip on the boulder kept him anchored to the ground; but the wind increased its force, and his hands were torn loose.  
  
Kirby yelled something that nobody could hear. He leaped up to go after Mario, and was promptly blown after him by the wind. He weighed even less than Mario did, and his balloonish body caught the gusts much easier. The world ran circles around him as he spun helplessly in midair, completely losing all sense of direction. His view of the landscape randomly darting to and fro. The sky was now below his feet...was that 'up'? Wait, now it had moved to his right. That meant his left was 'down'...no, now the ground was in front of him. Was East to his left or right? And now the sky was below him again.  
  
Kirby soon felt a strong urge to regurgitate his lunch growing within his stomach and fought off the feeling as best he could. He was able to discern, by the fleeting glimpses he got of the landscape, that he had now entered the middle of the area where the glowing thing was. Then he noticed that he was flying directly toward it. He peddled his arms around and swung his legs frantically, making a futile effort to try and stop. Too late. Everything around him turned green, before soon fading to white...  
  
  
  
Metal Sonic had been pointlessly flying through the trees for close to half an hour now, and was quickly becoming as close as a robot can get to being bored. He decided that a change of scenery was in order. With hardly a thought he gave an extra spurt of power to his rocket boosters. Activating his jet engine, he flew straight up into the air until he was above the forest canopy. Much better. His altitude now allowed him a panoramic view of the land into which he'd been dumped. What he saw confirmed his growing suspicions about what had happened to him.  
  
The land was not Mobius, his home planet. He calculated a 98.7% chance that he had accidentally entered a trans-dimensional portal from Mobius to this present location. Such portals were fairly common on Mobius- the worlds that they led to were often called 'Zones'- but according to his mental List of known Zones, this Zone had never been discovered before.  
  
Emotion circuits began to tingle with excitement. He was the first Mobian ever to set foot in this place. His master would very much indeed want to document and exploit this new location for all it was worth. He decided that he should go find the portal that led here and tell his master about all of this before exploring further.  
  
He scanned his immediate surroundings for the unique energy signature that a Zone portal gave off. Ah, there it was. He suddenly stopped. Wait, the signal from the portal was coming from two different directions.  
  
He was surprised. This Zone had its own Zone portals within itself?! Impossible!  
  
Now his master would be VERY interested to learn of this place. Deciding that the other portal could wait for now, he descended toward the one he thought he had arrived through without a sound.  
  
Once again, he was somehow expected. A hail of rocks and arrows greeted him as he grew level with the treetops. He took evasive maneuvers, swooping and ducking about far faster than any biological organism could. Finally he poured on the speed and made a beeline straight for the portal energy source, ignoring the primitive weapons that shot by him harmlessly. He entered the portal. Static overtook his vision. His auditory sensors began shutting down and turning on again. Numerous internal warning lights flashed. Something was scrambling his instruments! He gasped and flailed about frantically, trying to stop the destruction from happening...  
  
He suddenly felt himself hit something and took the brunt of the impact with his lower head and neck; the latter bent alarmingly under the pressure and gave a sickening crack. An intense, sharp pain suddenly sliced into his shoulder blades. He gave a short, strangled cry. He skidded to a slow halt on his back and attempted to move; no response. More warnings appeared in his static-filled robotic vision. They explained to him the reason for his immobility. Apparently he had damaged a circuit conductor near the base of his head which routed power from his batteries to his arms and legs; Until the circuit could be repaired, his limbs would not have enough individual energy to function.  
  
In organic terms, he'd broken his neck, and now he was paralyzed.  
  
He pondered what feelings a biological organism being might be having right now. Humiliation crossed his mind. Helplessness, too. Fear, definitely. Lots and lots of fear. Emotion circuits began to supply the feelings accordingly. He strained to move something below his head; ANYTHING. But nothing worked. He was stuck here, lying in this position, until he was rescued.  
  
Someone was standing over him. He immediately attempted a scan of the individual, but his radar had been damaged as well. The person was blocking out the sunlight, preventing him from seeing its features clearly. Another being came into his view. It appeared to be talking with the first one, and again was talking in an unknown and un-cataloged language; to Mecha it sounded similar to bird chirps. Of course, he admitted, it was entirely possible that his auditory sensors were malfunctioning. If that were the case, these beings could be speaking Basic Mobian and he wouldn't know it.  
  
"Chiiirip, chiree-chirp." Said the first one.  
  
"Chichi charip, chirrip chirree." The other replied. Both nodded at each other, and suddenly bent down to grab Mecha by his arms and legs. With a heave they lifted him off the ground and began carrying him.  
  
Rage replaced his fear. His eyes flared several degrees brighter as his anger grew to such amounts that his emotion circuits threatened to overload. These beings were planning to throw him away like some piece of garbage. His computer mind produced several fitting adjectives at that point to describe his captors. He would have started loudly vocalizing them, too, if his external speaker was still working.  
  
Suddenly doubt crept into his thoughts. What in his body WAS working?? He ran a self-diagnostic. His remaining anger was smothered with horror as he stared hard at the results. Less than 15% of his bodily functions were still operative. Whatever had happened to him in that portal had messed him up pretty good. He took this opportunity to look around himself...and felt the desperate urge to scream profanity rising within him.  
  
He'd entered the wrong portal. This wasn't Mobius! It was outside what appeared to be a replica of a medieval castle...  
  
His attention was averted when the two beings above him stopped walking and began to swing him by his arms and legs. Put me down, you fools! He mentally screamed at them. Of course they couldn't hear this. The beings gave him one last huge swing, and Mecha felt himself be thrown into the air. His body turned while he fell so he could see the ground coming up towards him. Apparently, he'd been thrown off a cliff. At the bottom were several sharp, pointy rocks, and the remains of other broken machines that had been thrown down there.  
  
Mecha mentally winced. Oh, this was going to hurt...  
  
WHAM. Nuts, bolts, cogs and gears flew as rocks impaled him everywhere. The pain flared up, so intense that his nerve conductor overloaded and shorted out. His last thought was to swear vengeance on those who had done this to him. His eyes flickered off, and his computer brain shut down from the strain of excess damage.  
  
He'd been knocked out.  
  
The two beings at the top waited to see if he would move again. When he didn't, they gave each other a high-five and walked away.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Metal Sonic! Report!"  
  
Static and fuzz answered this request.  
  
"Mecha!" The voice said more forcefully. "Report NOW. That is a direct order!"  
  
More static. More fuzz.  
  
The speaker sat back and rubbed his several chins. "Hmmm, something's wrong." He muttered. "Even Mecha couldn't disobey a direct order. I programmed him that way." He moved his hands over a keyboard, fingers dancing over the keys, and the visual data from the spy cameras posted near Mecha's patrol zone came up onscreen. "Something must have happened to him..."  
  
He rewound the tape to just after Mecha's last report. He watched as his robot entered the area of the screen. Suddenly Mecha stopped. He appeared to have noticed something going on to the left. Without warning he broke off from his patrol route and sped off in the direction of the disturbance.  
  
He watched this without a sound. When Mecha was gone from the screen's vicinity he sat back with a sigh. What had Metal Sonic seen? He typed a certain string of commands onto the keyboard. One of the screens replaced its view with the image of one of his security robots, named SWATbots.  
  
The SWATbot saluted him immediately. "What are your orders, sir?"  
  
"Metal Sonic has disappeared. I want you to round up SWATbot squadrons 2 and 5 to go search for him. His last known location was at coordinates-" he checked the other screen-"12.35N, 346.867E. Find him and bring him back to base for repairs."  
  
The SWATbot saluted again. "Yes, sir! We will begin at once. SWAT-Leader out."  
  
He nodded. "Robotnik out." He leaned back and wearily began to rub his temples. He sighed again. Something told him that this was going to be a very long day...  
  
  
  
  
  
"Mario?! Is that YOU??!"  
  
"Wait a minute..." Link began. He'd just realized something.  
  
The doctor standing in front of him gave the green plumber an odd look. "Yes, my name is Mario. Dr. Mario. You seem a bit familiar...have we met before?"  
  
"Wait, hold on a second..." Link started. Luigi interrupted him by shoving him out of the way and running up to the doctor.  
  
Luigi gripped Dr. Mario by his arms and pulled his face in close. "What do you mean?! I'm your brother! LUIGI!" He forcibly restrained himself from coughing while he said this.  
  
At the mention of the name Dr. Mario's face went white. He began to shake. "No...no, you couldn't be..." He whispered.  
  
Link suddenly forced himself in between the two. "HANG ON! TIME OUT!" He grabbed Luigi by the arm and pulled him off to the side to speak privately. "Luigi, listen to me! I think this is a Mario from another dimension. You know how you got here? Well, THIS Mario-" he pointed at the shaking doctor- "probably got here the same way. OUR Mario is still in Lon Lon Ranch, asleep."  
  
Dr. Mario was now leaning unsteadily against the counter, trying to calm down his racing heart. At length he suddenly spoke, ashen-faced, to the shocked Luigi. "You...you couldn't be my brother. He died several years ago to a virulent disease...it's the reason I first started studying medicine..." His voice trickled away to a faint whisper at the end, and finally he could say no more. He took a deep breath and got control of himself. "You're not my brother." He said louder, with more conviction. "You are simply someone who looks like him. And that was a VERY cruel prank you pulled just now, by the way. Lord knows I've had enough hurt in my life already without you coming in here and..." He waved the sentence off, but Luigi got the idea.  
  
Luigi blinked several times. "I'm...sorry..." he said at last with a sneeze and a cough.  
  
"You should be. Now, what seems to be the problem?"  
  
Amora pointed a bony finger at Luigi. "This poor soul seems rather sickly, Doctor. He has a nasty case of the coughs if I've ever seen one..."  
  
Dr. Mario eyed Luigi intently with the expression of a trained expert. "Hmmm. You do look remarkably like him..." he muttered. "Fascinating..." He placed the knobs of his stethoscope in his ears and placed the dial on Luigi's chest. "Breathe deeply, please."  
  
Luigi began to do so, and wound up going into another coughing fit. Dr. Mario's face suddenly twisted up in a smile. "I think I know what the problem is." He chuckled. He replaced his stethoscope and motioned for Luigi to follow him outside. "If you'll excuse us for a moment, my dear Madame?"  
  
Amora nodded and waved the two off. "Go ahead and do whatever you can for that young man, Doctor."  
  
Dr. Mario nodded and followed Luigi outside. Immediately Luigi took a deep breath of the fresh, clean air. "Ahhh, much better." He sighed.  
  
Dr. Mario began to chuckle harder. "Here's my diagnosis: you appear to be allergic to the type of incense Madame Amora is so fond of using. I've told her time and time again that it is unnecessary, but she refuses to listen. She seems to think it adds 'atmosphere' to the place, when really it's quite the opposite, I'm afraid. My prescription to you is a healthy dose of fresh air and a recommendation to not enter that shop again. Link can get your medicine, if you really need it. Understand?"  
  
Luigi nodded, happy to be away from the noxious fumes. "Oh, and one more thing." Dr. Mario said. He rummaged within his coat and pulled out a large pill capsule around the size of Luigi's pinky finger. One half of it was red, and the other half was blue. "Take this with you. It's one of my special Megavitamins, proven to cure any illness with one dose. It'll help you should you ever get in trouble with germs." He smiled. "They're extremely difficult to manufacture, and I've only produced a few, but I'll let you have one because you remind me of my brother so much. Keep it safe, and don't take it unless you're absolutely sure that you need it." He patted Luigi on the shoulder. "I'll go tell Link you're ready to go now. Good luck."  
  
Luigi was speechless. He tried to voice some thanks, but Dr. Mario waved the sentiments off. "You don't need to thank me. Consider it a gift." The words sounded oddly familiar to Luigi, almost like déjà vu. He nodded. "In that case, thanks for the luck. I'll need it."  
  
Dr. Mario cocked his head curiously at Luigi as he opened the door to the Potion Shop, and stopped. "One more question. Why did you come here in the first place, anyway?"  
  
"Ummm..."Luigi stammered. "One of my, uh, family members is sick."  
  
Dr. Mario nodded sadly. "I know how you feel." Then he re-entered the shop.  
  
"'You do a nice thing, nice things happen to you'..." Luigi quoted. It was an old Mushroomian proverb he'd learned a long time ago...but he'd never really understood its meaning, until now. He tucked the Megavitamin safely away in a pocket of his overalls.  
  
A few minutes later Link came out holding a bottle full of glowing blue liquid. "THIS ought to wake Mario up." He said with a sly grin. "It's a healing potion that contains one drop of Conic Pepper Acid, the spiciest substance known to Hyrule. GUARANTEED to get him moving once he drinks it."  
  
Luigi grinned back. "Gosh, I could use some of that back home. You have no idea how hard it is to get him out of bed normally."  
  
Link began laughing. "Well, maybe I'll let you take the remainder home with you once we use some of it on him."  
  
Luigi began to laugh as well. "Okay, that'd be great!"  
  
"Come on. Let's see what happens when he drinks it!" Link raced off, and Luigi quickly followed.  
  
  
  
"You've gotta be KIDDING me!" She gaped.  
  
"It's no joke! We swear!"  
  
"How could a red light completely pulverize a 140-meter tree?!"  
  
Mido scratched his head underneath his ever-present green cap. "I don't know. Maybe the monster used magic or something?"  
  
Saria was staring, dumbfounded, at the spot where one of the Lost Woods' largest trees had once stood. Now all that remained of the mighty giant Redoak was a circular brown crater and a small pile of ash at its center. The monster, of course, was nowhere to be seen, but Saria could tell that Mido and Dore weren't pulling pranks this time when they showed her this evidence of its' existence.  
  
She shook her head slowly, disbelief etched across her expression. "I just don't understand it. There isn't any sort of spell that could do something like this without setting the whole forest aflame! What's going on here??"  
  
Mido and Dore shrugged in unison. They were helpless to answer, but were relieved nonetheless that Saria now believed them.  
  
Saria went quiet for a moment, thinking about what to do. Finally she spoke to the other two Kokiri. "I'm gonna try to talk to Link, guys. He needs to know about this. I need you two to be very quiet while I do this, okay?"  
  
Mido and Dore shrugged again. Sure, whatever.  
  
Saria put her ocarina to her lips and slowly began to play her song, concentrating on the image of Link in her mind...  
  
  
  
  
  
Link suddenly stopped, nearly dropping the potion-bottle in surprise. "Saria?!" He cried out loud.  
  
Luigi stopped next to him. "What? Huh?" He asked perplexedly.  
  
Link waved for him to be quiet. "One of my friends is trying to contact me telepathically. Hush..." He stopped talking and instead concentrated on listening to Saria's voice, talking to him from far away, telling him about an urgent danger to the forest...  
  
Link looked up from his concentration with a gasp. "Oh, no. Luigi, I'm afraid that I'll have to leave you for now. There's some important business elsewhere that requires my presence, I'm afraid."  
  
Luigi grabbed the Hylian by his sleeve. "It has to do with what your friend told you, doesn't it? Don't go yet! Wait for Mario to wake up, and we'll go with you."  
  
Link shook his blonde head. "I'm sorry, but I have to go NOW. I'm needed at the Lost Woods, far to the south of here. It's a very long journey to get there, and I don't want to put you and Mario through it. I'll go alone."  
  
"But Mario and I could be helpful to you in battle!" Luigi protested. "We could help you fight whatever is the problem down there!"  
  
Link thought about this for a moment. "True," he replied slowly, "but..."  
  
"And the distance is no problem for me and Mario!" Luigi cut him off. "We've traveled much, much longer distances than this before, believe me. It'll be no problem for us to keep up."  
  
Link grinned suddenly and began laughing. "Geez, Luigi, you're as stubborn as I am! All right, then. We'll head back to Lon Lon Ranch to get Mario, and then you two can come with me." Mentally he also explained this to Saria. She replied that it was okay, as long as he hurried. He nodded and ended the mental conversation. "Okay! Let's go, then!"  
  
Both of them raced for the village entrance, eager to give Mario the potion and start their journey.  
  
  
  
Saria stopped playing and nodded. "Link's coming to help." She sighed. "But it'll take him awhile to get here, since he has to help someone else before he can help us."  
  
"Why can't he help US first?" Dore asked with a touch of hurt in his voice. "Are we less important to him than some stranger??"  
  
"Dore, calm down. If I know Link, he probably already promised to help this other guy and doesn't want to back down on his word." Mido glanced at Saria as he said this. "Right?"  
  
She nodded. "That's it exactly, Mido. Apparently you know Link better than you let on." She motioned for the other two to follow her. "Anyway, come on. We need to tell the other Kokiri about this, too." She led them in the direction of the Kokiri Village, worrying all the way.  
  
  
  
Mario couldn't see anything. He was tumbling helplessly through a white void of light and sound. It was white purer than the purest snow, almost like the robes of angels, or the sterilized sheets of hospital beds...  
  
He felt himself hit a surface and gasped in surprise. He was lying on something...but he couldn't tell what, since he was partially blinded by the light. He blinked several times, but the lack of vision remained. He lay still and waited, hoping the blindness was only temporary.  
  
After a few seconds he could make out individual shapes and colors again. Unsteadily he stumbled to his feet, feeling rather dizzy and lightheaded. Gosh, what just happened? Had he gone through that weird green light he'd seen?  
  
He closed his eyes and shook his head, willing the spots dancing before his vision to leave. he blinked several times, and his vision cleared. Suddenly he noticed his surroundings. The setting came as such a shock to him, so completely unexpected on his part, that he threw caution to the wind and yelled out,  
  
"Bowser's castle?! What the heck??!"  
  
He heard a soft "Oof!" behind him and turned around. There, lying on the floor with his arms over his eyes, was Kirby. Mario helped him get to his feet, since the pink puffball had apparently also been blinded. "Don't worry, your vision will come back in a minute." He reassured the Dreamlander.  
  
"Mario? Is that you?" Kirby asked, while taking his arms off his eyes and blinking rapidly. "Where are we?"  
  
"The fortress of my arch-enemy." Was Mario's casual reply. "We must've entered another dream. Why do you ask?"  
  
Kirby's next statement sounded very frightened. "I can't sense Dreamland anymore."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Being a Dreamlander has certain advantages, one of them being that you can tell if your surroundings are caused by a dream or if they're not. Right now, they're not."  
  
Mario paused and though about this. "You mean this isn't a dream?"  
  
Kirby shook his head, which made his whole body shake like Jell-O. His vision was quickly returning. Already he could see Mario staring at him with an amazed look upon his face.  
  
"We're in Reality?"  
  
Kirby nodded.  
  
"MY Reality?"  
  
Kirby shrugged, then nodded again. "I think so."  
  
Mario blinked twice as he processed this news. He attempted to say something more, but no sound came out of his mouth. This new predicament, coupled with everything else he'd been through in the past few days, combined to form a jumbled haze in his mind. As he tried to come to grips with it, he found the stress was too much for him and promptly passed out.  
  
Kirby blinked as Mario held up a hand, opened his mouth as if to speak, went cross-eyed, and fell over backwards. He was out like a light. Kirby shook his head slowly, and sighed. "Reals..." He muttered.  
  
  
  
  
  
While it has often been said that robots had more endurance than humans, whoever said they had limitless stamina was lying. Rush's servomotors began to whine, and his speed dropped gradually. He had not been built to stay in this configuration for this long. Mega Man noticed the canine's weariness sympathetically. "Howzabout a break, boy?"  
  
Rush barked weakly and slowed down to a hover. Mega Man hopped off his dog's back, and Rush gratefully transformed back into his normal self.  
  
Mega Man sat on a nearby rock and sighed. They'd been chasing Dark Matter for over an hour now, and there was still no sign of it or Pikachu anywhere. The landscape had quickly become dull and boring to look at, with only dirt and rocks to see in all directions. Oddly enough, neither he nor Rush had yet encountered any Reals' dreams.  
  
Mega Man pulled out another communicator just like the one he'd given the other two. "Let's check up with the rest of the gang, shall we?" He suggested to his dog. Rush sat on his hind legs and barked his approval. Mega Man nodded and activated the device.  
  
  
  
"Guys? Guys, can you hear me? Are you there?" Mega Man's voice suddenly came crackling through Mario's walkie-talkie. Kirby picked it up from where Mario had hooked it to his overalls and depressed the 'talk' button. "Mega Man?! Can you still hear us??!"  
  
"Loud and clear, Kirby! What's wrong? You sound surprised to hear from me."  
  
"We went to the problem's source like you told us, only to find this really weird green portal of some sort. We got thrown into it by adverse wind currents, and wound up in Mario's Reality!"  
  
Back in Dreamland, on Darkstar, Mega Man raised an eyebrow. "'Adverse wind currents'? What do you mean, Mario's Reality? Where in his Reality are you?"  
  
"Mario said it was the fortress of his arch-enemy."  
  
Mega Man gave a low whistle. "Gee, another hostile location! Wow. You two just have the best luck sometimes, don't you?"  
  
"You're telling me." Kirby grumbled. "I'm just amazed that this thing can pick up your signal at all when we're not even in the same kingdom as each other anymore."  
  
Mega Man laughed. "Hey, I told you it had long range! Seriously, though, I have no idea either. Maybe it has to do with Dreamland being messed up or something."  
  
Kirby shrugged and began to reply, but suddenly heard footsteps approaching their location. "Uh-oh! We've got company, Mega! I'll talk with you later! Bye!" Kirby clicked off the walkie-talkie without waiting for a reply and replaced it on Mario's overalls, then attempted to wake up the plumber himself. "Mario! Get up! We have to get out of here! Mario!"  
  
Mario began to slowly come to. "Huh...? Kirby?" He groaned loudly.  
  
"Ssh! Keep it down!" Kirby whispered. "Mario, we've gotta move! Incoming baddies are headed our way!"  
  
Mario rose to his feet and shook the cobwebs out of his brain. "Great, just great."  
  
Kirby was looking around frantically for a hiding place. "Where can we go?"  
  
Mario fixed Kirby with a steady gaze. "We don't. I can handle a few Koopa Troopas easily. And if some of 'em try and get away, you can make them into Ability Hats." He turned to face the direction that the footsteps were coming from, scowling at the approaching danger. "I'm sick of running away. This time we'll stand and fight."  
  
Kirby grew determined. "You're right." An impish grin worked its way onto his face. "Y'know, I've been wondering what a Koopa Hat would give me. Now I'll find out!"  
  
Mario and Kirby stood side by side and looked at each other. "Let's make like heroes!" Kirby cheered. Together he and Mario charged down the hallway, screaming war cries. "YAAAAHHH-!!"  
  
They turned around the corner-  
  
-and pulled up short at the sight that met them. As Mario had predicted, there were numerous Koopa Troopas waiting for them. What neither of them could have expected, however, was the purple glow emanating from their eyes.  
  
"Wha-?!" Kirby yelled. "What's Dark Matter doing HERE??!"  
  
"Who cares? LOOK OUT!" Mario yelled back as the possessed Koopas charged them. He leaped above the troops without a sound. Normally, the Koopa Troopas might have realized what he was doing and tried to guard themselves from his attack; but Dark Matter was unfamiliar with Mario's tactics, and the only thing it knew about him was his Fire Flower abilities. It never knew what hit it.  
  
Mario slammed down on top of the Koopa at the front of the pack, causing the turtle to shoot out of its own shell and into the rest of the baddies. Mario then picked up the discarded shell and slid it on the floor at high speed into the legs of the enemies. The front row of Koopas fell on top of each other in a heap.  
  
"STRIKE!" Mario cheered. He leaped upwards again to repeat the procedure.  
  
Kirby was having a blast, sucking up Koopas and spitting them out as projectiles. Long ago he'd turned one into an Ability Hat-now he sported a beak on the front of his face and wore a large round turtle shell that protected him from most attacks. If he wanted another projectile he could simply take off the shell and throw it at the enemies, then steal one of the other shells to wear instead.  
  
A thought occurred to him. Maybe he should even these odds a little bit. He began to concentrate. The shell and beak disappeared into a swirling light that resolved itself into a Koopa Troopa, standing next to him. It looked just like the others they were fighting, except it had a blue shell instead of a green or red one. "Hi!" It spoke to Kirby cheerfully. It was obviously a female, from the sound of its voice. "My name's Kapi." She looked around at the chaos, and her expression hardened with anger when she saw that Dark Matter had possessed the other Koopas. "Need some help?"  
  
"Sure!" Kirby replied with a smile. Kapi nodded, took off her shell, and hurled it at the enemies. But instead of the shell just sliding to a stop, as Kirby's had done, it flew back toward Kapi until she caught it with one hand. "Boomerang Shell." She replied to Kirby's surprised stare. " This bracelet I'm wearing uses magnetic energy to bring it back to its owner."  
  
For the first time Kirby noticed the gray metal band attached to Kapi's right wrist. His smile widened into a grin. "Cool!"  
  
Meanwhile, Mario felt like he was jumping on a trampoline. The enemies below were so closely packed together that he could do one continuous string of jumps and get them all. By now he'd lost count of how many times he'd been bounced back into the air after jumping on a Koopa. He guessed it must've been somewhere in the forties.  
  
He fell downwards to land on another victim, when something odd happened. The Koopa he was aiming for dodged his attack and grabbed him by the leg as he landed. Suddenly the purple glow left its eyes and began traveling up its arm towards Mario. Mario gasped as he felt an unfamiliar presence start to enter his mind. Dark Matter was trying to possess him!  
  
He fought the invading presence wildly. He REFUSED to be used against his friends. The Dark Matter fought back, and Mario suddenly fell to the floor, eyes clenched shut as he waged an inner war inside himself. The Koopa still had a death grip on his leg.  
  
Kirby saw this and grew alarmed. "Kapi!" He yelled. The female Koopa turned. Kirby pointed at the struggling Mario that was now lying on the ground, writhing around helplessly. The purple glow was slowly starting to crawl up his body toward his head. He was losing the battle.  
  
Kapi understood immediately. With one well-aimed shot, she sent the Koopa holding Mario flying into the wall. With it's connection to Mario broken, Dark Matter had no choice but to retreat out of his body and resolve itself into the black orb with an eye that they had seen earlier in Dreamland. Mario gasped and panted where he lay, too exhausted from his struggle to stand.  
  
Kirby growled in annoyance, more than a little angry at the enemy for having the nerve to try and possess his friend. He quickly darted over to Mario and snatched up his cap before the plumber could protest. Dark Matter never saw him lunge at it in a sideways version of a Super Jump, nor did it see him launch a wall of fireballs directly at it. Then the projectiles hit it, and it didn't see anything at all after that.  
  
Kirby stood where the Dark Matter had, breathing heavily with a furious expression, but looking like he could take on the whole Koopa Army at once. "Thanks, Kirby." Mario weakly called over to he Pink Wonder.  
  
"No problem!" Kirby replied.  
  
Mario looked around himself. All the possessed Koopas that they'd been fighting had retreated during Mario's struggle. He walked back over to Kirby. "Who's your new friend?"  
  
"My name's Kapi. Pleased to meet you!" Kapi introduced herself, performing a mock-curtsey.  
  
Mario scratched his head underneath his cap. " A nice Koopa? Huh! Well, it's good to know that there's at least one friendly presence in this place."  
  
Kapi suddenly frowned. "Actually, all of us Koopas are normally friendly. It's just that Kamek hypnotized all of us into searching for and destroying you. Normally we're too peace-loving to do anything like hurt someone without reason."  
  
Kirby blinked. "And when I re-transformed you just now..."  
  
"...the hypnotization was broken." Kapi finished. "I'm a little less peaceful than my siblings, and WILL fight if something is threatening their existence, such as those things that possessed us." She took off her shell and twirled it on one finger, and Mario noticed that underneath the shell Kapi was wearing a T-shirt and shorts. "I'm an expert markswoman with my shell too." She exclaimed.  
  
"Wait. If Bowser makes you do stuff you don't like, why bother following him?" Mario asked.  
  
"I didn't say BOWSER hypnotized us." She replied irritably. "We love Bowser. He's a very generous and kind leader, and we'd never dream of betraying him. No, I hate Kamek's guts instead. If you went and kicked his sorry shell clear to the moon, I wouldn't mind at all. Problem is, Bowser seems to like him for some unknown reason-I suspect Kamek brainwashed him- and I can't do anything to him without losing face in front of King Koopa."  
  
"Hmmm..." Mario thought. An idea was beginning to form in his mind. "I'll tell you what, Kapi. You help us go rescue some companions of mine, and I'll go help you take out Kamek. Bowser would expect me to do something like that, and you won't get in trouble for it at all."  
  
Hope gleamed in the tiny Koopa's eyes. "Really? You'd do that? For me??"  
  
"Absolutely. I take it that once Kamek's out of the picture, your brothers and sisters will go back to normal, right?" Kapi nodded.  
  
Kirby jumped up into the air with glee. "All RIGHT! Then maybe I can find out how Dark Matter got here, and use that to get back to Dreamland!"  
  
"But first we have to defeat Dark Matter itself." Mario reminded him.  
  
"Oh yeah, I forgot." Kirby remembered, sobering up at once.  
  
"Don't worry, I'll help you get rid of that evil black stuff! Let's go!" Kapi cheered. She began to run off, but stopped. "Umm, wait a minute. You didn't tell me who your companions are." She explained sheepishly. "Bowser puts guests in different parts of the castle depending on who they are."  
  
Mario shrugged. "They're two princesses, and one of them is-"  
  
"Mistress Peach?!" Kapi squeaked. "Oh, but you CAN'T rescue her, Mario! She's Bowser's true love! If she goes missing, he'll be crushed!"  
  
"Look, do you want my help or not?"  
  
Kapi sighed miserably. "Oh, alright. King Bowser, please forgive me for this..." She muttered. "I know where she is. Do you want to rescue that other princess, too?"  
  
"Daisy? Yes. She's Peach's cousin."  
  
"Ooh, so that's why they insisted on being put in neighboring rooms! I was wondering about that...okay, come on. I'll take you there." She began to lead the way, and Mario and Kirby followed.  
  
She led them through hallway after hallway, intersection after intersection, past innumerable doors and up and down several staircases. Within the space of a few minutes Mario was completely turned around. He only hoped that Kapi knew where she was going, because otherwise they might be lost in here forever. The whole time they traveled he worried that they might encounter more Koopas, or worse, Dark Matter, but luck seemed to be with them, as they encountered nobody along the way. Neither he nor Kirby knew that Kapi was leading them through secret passageways and back tunnels that avoided the patrol routes of the castle guards; if they had, they might have been a little less nervous.  
  
Finally Kapi stopped. "We're here." She whispered. "Look."  
  
She stepped aside, and Mario was able to see that they were across the hall from two ornately-engraved doors standing side-by-side. One of the doors was standing wide open. The other door was missing from its hinges, and an ancient suit of armor was heaped on top of where it was lying on the floor. Guards were crawling all over the place, but none thought to look in their direction.  
  
Kapi smirked. "Looks like the Mistress doesn't need you to rescue her after all."  
  
Mario rolled his eyes. "It was probably Daisy who did this. She always did have a hot temper." They retreated back into the tunnel so the guards wouldn't accidentally find them.  
  
"Well, what do we do now?" Kirby asked. "They could be literally anywhere in the castle by now."  
  
"You're right." Mario sighed. "I suppose we might as well move on to part two of the plan, and go get rid of Kamek. We'll have to trust Peach and Daisy to take care of themselves, which I suspect they'll do rather well, if their break-out is any indication."  
  
Kapi began to jump up and down excitedly. "Enough talking! Let's go get that MajiKoopa jerk, and make him pay for hurting my family!" The other two agreed, and she once again began to lead them back through the infinite tunnels. 


	10. Chapter Nine: Encounters

The Crossover Saga  
  
By Stoney (stoney107@yahoo.com)  
  
  
  
Chapter 9 Encounters  
  
  
  
  
  
Kapi motioned the two forward. They were traveling through one of the more familiar portions of the castle, but there were no back passageways or side paths for them to sneak through here. As a result, they had to use the main passages, which meant avoiding the cautious guards that roamed everywhere. Thankfully, Kapi was a guard herself, and knew the guard schedules. The little Koopa was rapidly becoming more and more invaluable, Mario reflected. She led them past the guarded portions when the guards were taking their short breaks in-between shifts, and found hiding places for them when the guards came back. If two or more guards began talking to each other, she could translate for Mario. Kirby, like usual, somehow understood their speech without needing the translation.  
  
Silently the trio crept across the stone floor, looking about and trusting Kapi to get them away before the Koopas came back. So far, Mario hadn't seen any Troops except for Koopas inside the castle. He was rather puzzled at this. Where were the Goombas, Lakitus, and Bomb-ombs?  
  
At one intersection, while waiting for the guards' break to come, Mario saw that a bipedal rabbit had replaced one of the Koopa Troopas as guards. Mario was familiar with anthropomorphic animals ever since visiting Dreamland, but he did not understand how one of them got into the Mushroom Kingdom.  
  
Kapi noticed the new guard, too. "That's one of the new recruits for the Koopa Troop that Bowser has enlisted." She whispered to Mario. "I'm not sure where they come from, but they're the best fighters I've ever seen. I sure wouldn't mind if one of them were helping us take out Kamek.unfortunately, that dang MagiKoopa also cast his hypnotization spell over them, making them swear blind loyalty to the Koopa Empire, and to himself."  
  
Mario studied the rabbit carefully. Besides carrying a standard-issue Koopa spear and armor, the rabbit also had a deadly looking shotgun gripped in one hand. An ammunition belt was slung over one shoulder and across its chest. An eye patch covered one of its eyes, and a scar could be seen stretching from its forehead underneath the eye patch, and down to its chin.  
  
"Are the new recruits all rabbits?" Kirby asked.  
  
"Nope. They're all kinds of animals; Bears, lizards, dogs, cats, rhinos, tigers, squirrels, foxes, fish, et cetera."  
  
"Quite a list." Mario mused.  
  
"Yeah." Kapi replied absently. She was gazing steadily at the guard.  
  
"How many new recruits do you think there are?" Mario asked.  
  
"Yeah." Kapi replied, in that same distant tone.  
  
Mario looked at her in surprise. "Kapi, are you okay?"  
  
"Yeah." She replied absently again.  
  
Mario arched an eyebrow. "How now, brown cow?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Which came first, the Yoshi or the egg?"  
  
"Yeah." A dreamy look was slowly taking over her expression. Mario shared a glance with Kirby, and both of them began snickering. The sound snapped Kapi out of her trance. "What? Huh? Wha? What'd I miss?"  
  
"Nothing." Mario chuckled. "Do you know that guard's name?"  
  
"Well, yes, I do.his name's Hack. He's a genius with computers, or so I've heard."  
  
"Well, I think he's leaving for break." Mario pointed out.  
  
Kapi stuttered in surprise. "Oh! Well, uh, yeah, I, um, I guess he is. Uh, okay, come on then." She began to guide them through the formerly-guarded intersection. Mario and Kirby followed, each of them wearing a knowing grin.  
  
  
  
  
  
Ow. That hurt.  
  
What just happened? My head felt like it was gonna split open at any second.  
  
Wait, I remember now. I had been running recon in Robotropolis, and was checking out the last sector before heading back.then I ran into some weird green light, and now I was here.  
  
Well, I might as well get up and see where I was now. Man, I'm sore. Ouch.  
  
Wow. Who lived here, Doctor Frankenstein? Really creepy dark motif going on here. I'd like to know what kind of lunatic designed this place's interior...it almost looked like a medieval castle, but it couldn't be. The Mobian Middle Ages happened around 2000 years ago! Nothing I know of can be that old and still be this well-kept.  
  
Aha! Of course! The green light thing that I had run into looked like a portal. Had I entered a new Zone?  
  
I had to have. None of the other Zones I've been in looked like this one. Awesome!  
  
Time to explore!  
  
Let's see...oddly-shaped suits of armor...crossed axes hanging on the walls...primitive torches lighting the way...maybe Dracula lives here too?...stone walls...paved floor...small armored turtles looking at me...barred windows...hey, wait a second!  
  
Yep, they were definitely turtles. Wearing metal armor, carrying shields and spears. They're speaking some sort of weird language; I don't have a clue as to what they're saying. Man, Nicole would probably love to try and translate this...  
  
Uh-oh. Now one of them is pointing his spear at me. Different language or no, I can tell a threat when I see one. I'd better leave!  
  
ZOOM!  
  
Yahoo! Nothing like a good run to wake you up in the morning. I love the exhilaration of speed that I get whenever I juice like this. Two seconds later, I'm in an entirely different section of the castle. If it is a castle, that is.  
  
Man, how was I ever gonna find my way outta here? This place seems huge...  
  
At about this point I made a huge mistake. I was so busy looking around myself that I forgot to look where I was going. I didn't see the hole in the floor until I was already falling into it.  
  
"HOLY shiiiiiiiiiiii...."  
  
Agh! Now I'm in some sort of tunnel. Ow! Did it have an end?! Oof! Every time it took a turn I got slammed up against the sides. Ouch! Maybe if I curled up and shielded my face....yeah, that's better. Now at least I had some protection against this crazy ride.  
  
I could feel myself being tossed around every which way as the tunnel took several more turns. The whole time it continued to slant downwards at a steep angle. It seemed like a nightmare roller-coaster ride with no end...  
  
Finally I felt myself shoot out of the tunnel into open air. The next thing I know, I'm breathing in a mouthful of unidentified gray muck. Gack! I uncurled and pulled my head up above its surface, gasping and choking for all I was worth. I coughed once and then went into a major coughing fit that left my throat burning. In this fashion I continued to expel the foul liquid until I was sure I'd gotten it all out. Man, whatever this stuff was it tasted horrible. Where was I?  
  
I was in...  
  
"A garbage pit?"  
  
Oh man, and I'd nearly swallowed some of its sewage. Excuse me while I quietly retch. Yuck!  
  
I hauled my dripping body out of the disgusting ooze and stood up to my full height to take stock of my surroundings. I'd apparently wound up in the castle's sewer. Joy. Hunks of rotting I-Don't-Want-To-Know surrounded me along with rusty pieces of metal and other unidentifiable objects. Gee, what an interesting smell this place had. It reminded me of...sweaty socks. No, wait, worse than that. More like Geoffrey St. John on a rainy day. Yeah, that's more like it.  
  
Man, talk about out of the frying pan and into the fire. I think I preferred the creepy castle landscape to this place. Gross!  
  
Crud, I can't get up enough speed for a good run outta here while my legs are underwater. Great, just great...  
  
Waitaminnit, I've got an idea! I jumped up and began revving in midair. I came down running and shot off over the surface of the sewage like a bullet from a gun. Yee-ha! This was more like it!  
  
Say, there's something up ahead.it almost looks like.a person! Hey, move out of the way! I can't slow down on top of the sewage! Quick! Move! Uh-oh, look out!!  
  
CRASH! SPLAT!  
  
Eeew, yuck! More sewage. Yecch, the collision had sprayed it everywhere. Who'd I run into?  
  
!!!  
  
It's an OVERLANDER! A human! What on Mobius was one of them doing here?! I thought all of them were supposed to be extinct, except for Robuttnik and Snotley! Oh wait, I forgot I was in another Zone. There's probably hundreds of humans here. I'll have to remember that...  
  
"Hey, are you all right?" I asked, moving over to help her. She gave a shrill scream and scrambled to her feet to get away.  
  
"Don't come near me! I won't go back to Bowser! I mean it!!" She screamed.  
  
I got confused. "What the heck is a 'Bowser'?" I asked. It sounded almost like something you'd eat in breakfast cereal, I thought.  
  
"Don't play stupid with me! I can tell you're one of those new recruits he's been hiring!" I suddenly noticed that there was another human beside the first. While the one talking to me was so covered in sewage as to render her clothes indescribable, the second was wearing a bright yellow dress with gloves. On her head she wore a pink crown. Say, now that I thought about it, the first person seemed to have a crown on her head too.  
  
"Are you two princesses or something?" I asked curiously. Hey, it's not often that you meet two members of royalty at the bottom of some rat- infested sewer in an unknown medieval castle.  
  
The first rolled her eyes. "Oh, give me a break. Like we'd really believe that you don't know who we are! Nice try pal, but we're not falling for it!"  
  
I seriously wracked my brain, searching for any memory whatsoever pertaining to these two. I came up empty. I shook my head, and she snorted in disbelief.  
  
The second tapped the first on the shoulder. "Um, Peach? Maybe he's telling the truth. After all, I don't recall any of Bowser's new recruits looking anything like him, even if they were different from Koopas."  
  
I looked at myself. Tan belly, dark blue fur, and spines sticking out of my back that would put a porcupine to shame. I had to agree, there weren't many other animals in the universe that looked quite like I did. I looked at the first.what did that other girl call her? Peach?.and studied her expression, waiting for a response. At last she relented. "Maybe you're right, Daisy. Who are you, then?" This last was directed at me.  
  
I gave a mock-bow. "Name's Sonic the Hedgehog, the fastest thing alive. And believe me, I'm not joking when I say that. And you are?"  
  
"Princess Peach Toadstool, ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom. This is my cousin, Princess Daisy, ruler of Sarasaland." She indicated the girl in yellow. She waved, and I waved back.  
  
I rubbed the back of my neck, careful to not prick myself on my spines. "Um, sorry about what happened just now. I have trouble putting on the brakes while hydroplaning."  
  
Peach looked at her sewage-soaked dress and laughed without humor. "Well, this is the icing on today's cake of bad luck." She exclaimed with odd uncaring. "We've been looking for a way out of here for the past hour."  
  
I looked around. I hadn't noticed it before, but the sewer was huge. "Yeah, I can see why it'd take so long." I admitted.  
  
Peach brushed her dripping hair out of the way and narrowed her eyes at me. "So, you're not allied with Bowser?"  
  
Again with that name. "Who or what is a 'Bowser'?"  
  
"A really big turtle with lots of spikes. He can breathe fire, and he weighs around one ton." Daisy clarified.  
  
I tried to picture this creature and wound up laughing at the mental image I came up with. "Gee, sounds really ugly." I snickered. "I take it you two don't like him that much?"  
  
"Are you KIDDING?! We-" Peach began. Daisy clapped a hand over her cousin's mouth to muffle her yells.  
  
"No, not really." She replied casually as Peach began to struggle. "He's kidnapped Peach, here, several times." I nodded, and she let Peach go.  
  
Peach glared at Daisy for a moment before addressing me. "Well, Sonic, any enemy of Bowser is a friend of mine. Nice to meet you."  
  
"Same here!" Daisy chimed in.  
  
I grinned. "Ditto, to both."  
  
Brief silence resumed. Water dripped in the distance. Daisy let out a small cough.  
  
"So.I take it that you got here through a drainage tunnel, correct?" Peach asked, more to start a conversation than anything else.  
  
"If that's what you call that long tube I went through, then yeah." I pointed behind myself with my thumb. "I'm just walking along, minding my own business, right? When suddenly this huge freakin' hole in the floor shows up outta nowhere! I fell into it and now I'm here."  
  
"Well, we're on the run from a whole bunch of armed guards named Koopa Troopas." Daisy piped up.  
  
I nodded. "Yeah, I met some of 'em upstairs. Friendly, aren't they?"  
  
Peach rolled her eyes again, but this time I knew the gesture wasn't aimed at me. "Sonic, you don't know the half of it. I suggest we start moving again before one of them finds us."  
  
"Excellent idea." I approved. "But I know of a way that'll get us out faster. Here, each of you grab an arm." I turned around and held my arms out back behind me for them to take, and reluctantly they did so. "Now, whatever you do, HANG ON TIGHT. We'll be traveling pretty fast, and I don't want ya to slip loose, okay?"  
  
Before either of them could voice a nervous objection I performed the same trick as before, jumping up and then coming down running. We were off! Their screams of surprise reverberated off the walls long after we were gone.  
  
  
  
Link and Luigi arrived at Lon Lon ranch to find a near-hysterical Malon awaiting them. After several minutes of trying to get her to calm down, she finally managed to explain that Mario had disappeared from his room shortly after they'd left yesterday, and had been missing ever since. Luigi and Link were stunned. How'd he wake up? Where had he gone? Had someone kidnapped him?  
  
Link almost decided to not go to the Lost Woods and instead stay to search for Mario, but that night Saria contacted Link again. She convinced him to continue the journey by pointing out that there was just as big a chance of Mario being in the Lost Woods than anywhere else. So the next day, Link and Luigi left the ranch and headed south towards the Kokiri Forest.  
  
As they walked, Link talked openly to Luigi about his adventure through time to stop the supposed 'King of Evil', Ganondorf. The Lost Woods lay far to the southeast, near the edge of Hyrule's border. Between it and them were several miles of open plain, dotted sparingly with thin, skinny trees. Luigi didn't complain, though. Walking in the short, sparse grass would keep him a lot cleaner than, say, traversing a mud pit as a shortcut. Besides, the long journey gave him and Link more time to talk.  
  
".and then when I used it, it sank down into the water and ALL of the fish went after it! I finally managed to catch the largest fish in the pond!" Link exclaimed, holding his hands out away from each other to show the length of the aquatic creature. "When I held it up to show it to the owner, the fish was taller than me! He said it was a monster of a fish, and it was too big for him to put on his weighing scale, but he estimated that it was at least 22 pounds!"  
  
"Wow." Luigi was in awe.  
  
"You said it! Anyway, we're almost there!" Link reported. He pointed up ahead of them to a thick, dense clove of trees which marked the entrance to the Kokiri Forest. From there, they would be able to travel to the adjoining Lost Woods. Luigi nodded. He was carrying provisions for their journey inside a small backpack which he had slung over one shoulder. Link had a similar bag attached to his back. Both of them had had plenty of time to wonder what this urgent threat to the forest was. Luigi, having been rather inexperienced with Hylian monsters, first thought of the Koopa Army. Then he had to keep reminding himself that he was in a different dimension, and that the Koopas wouldn't be there.  
  
Link, for his part, thought that he might know. The possibility of a stray Wolfos or lost Deku scrub seemed to be the most logical explanations; However, Saria had described to him the destruction of the giant Redoak in her message yesterday, so he ruled that possibility out. He strained to think of some monster that could cast powerful magic. Perhaps the sorceress sisters Koume and Kotake had returned to Hyrule? He'd defeated them in the future, which meant they still existed in the past. It was entirely possible that they had decided to start wrecking havoc upon the Kokiri by themselves rather than wait for Ganon's orders.  
  
Link slowly smiled. If the sisters had indeed returned, then he'd be prepared for them. One section of the flap which covered his pack's opening slipped off, revealing a brilliantly polished silver surface underneath that reflected the sunlight perfectly. Link noticed, and replaced the pack's cover. Yep, he'd definitely be prepared.  
  
He and Luigi entered the dense thicket of trees side-by-side. A long, hollow log lay before them. The thing must've once been part of a colossal tree, since it was big enough to admit them both without their needing to stoop over. "This is the entrance to Kokiri Forest." Link explained. He shifted the weight of his pack from one shoulder to the other and glanced at Luigi. "Ready?"  
  
"Yep!"  
  
No more words were exchanged as they both ran inside.  
  
  
  
Mario blinked. No way. It couldn't be. Had he just seen what he thought he'd seen?  
  
He tapped Kirby on his head and motioned for him to look in the same direction he was. Kirby did, and nearly jumped in amazement.  
  
"Pikachu?!"  
  
The Pokemon froze from where he had been traveling down the hallway. As he turned to look at them, they saw that Dark Matter's purple glow was still present in his eyes. It recognized them, and suddenly bolted the rest of the way down the hallway at high speed. Within moments he was lost from sight.  
  
Kirby cursed, and Mario cringed at his use of language. "I should have known!" the Dreamlander scolded himself. "It'd only make sense that Pikachu would be here if the rest of Dark Matter was!"  
  
Mario unhooked his walkie-talkie. "Hey, Mega Man?" He then remembered that they weren't in Dreamland anymore. Darn, the walkie-talkie wouldn't work now-  
  
"Yeah? What is it?" Mega Man's voice answered, surprising Mario far more than glimpsing Pikachu had.  
  
"You can still hear us?!" Mario gasped.  
  
"Yeah. Don't ask me why, I have no idea. What's the problem?"  
  
Kirby snatched the small radio from Mario's grip. "Mega, you need to get to the problem's source, NOW. Pikachu and Dark Matter somehow managed to come here!"  
  
There was silence on the other end for a couple seconds. "Hello? Mega? Can you hear us?" Kirby persisted.  
  
Mega Man's sudden reply was slow in coming, and Kirby asked if he was there several more times. When the robot finally answered, his voice was grave. "I'll be right there. I just saw a few of Dark Matter's Eyes go in the direction of the disturbance. Hang on, guys." The connection broke. Kirby switched his Walkie-talkie off and handed it back to Mario, who re-attached it to his overalls.  
  
"Man, this day is just getting weirder and weirder." Mario exclaimed.  
  
Kirby grinned at him. "Mario, I believe you've just mastered the art of understatement."  
  
Kapi, who had remained silent while all this was going on, now spoke up. "Who was that you were talking to just now?"  
  
"A friend of ours. He's pretty far away from us, and I was surprised that the signal could still reach him."  
  
"Oh. And that thing that ran down the tunnel?" Kapi asked while pointing at the tunnel in question.  
  
"Also a friend. He's been possessed, just like you were."  
  
Any further conversation was cut off by a soft humming noise, accompanied by Mega Man materializing in front of them in a green flash of light. He stumbled unsteadily and fell onto his back, dizzy and disoriented by his trip to Reality. Mario and Kirby raced over to help, while Kapi stayed back and watched.  
  
"Mega Man! Are you okay?" Mario cried.  
  
"Oh wow..what a ride.." Mega Man faintly replied. The world was spinning circles in front of him and his vision swam in and out of focus. "Could someone stop the room, please? I'd like to get off."  
  
"C'mon, up you go!" Kirby grunted while trying to lift the heavy robot to his feet. Mario lent a hand, and steadied Mega Man when he wobbled unsteadily after becoming upright.  
  
"Man, Kirby, you should've warned me about the side effects before I entered that portal. Yikes." He finally spoke. "I never knew trans- dimensional travel could be so disorienting."  
  
"Yeah, well, now you know. How'd you manage to appear HERE, though?"  
  
"Beats me." He muttered. "All I know is that I teleported to the problem's source, and landed right next to a green portal. Before I knew what was happening I got blown into it." He glanced at Kirby. "I think I understand what you meant by 'adverse wind currents', now."  
  
Mario blinked. What? Had he missed something? He shook his head and turned to see where Kapi was.  
  
.and froze in shock.  
  
He spoke up. "Hey, guys? Uh.we've got company."  
  
Kamek was floating on a newly-carved broomstick not ten feet away from the entire group. Standing next to him, surprise and anger written all over his face, was none other than Bowser himself.  
  
  
  
  
  
Link and Saria greeted each other like old friends, which only made sense, because they were. Unfortunately, Saria was too worried to exchange pleasantries. Immediately after being introduced to Luigi, she asked them to follow her to the site of the blasted Redoak. She took them on a quick trip through some more log-tunnels, then abruptly turned off the path and dove into the trees. They followed, sticking close together. There was a very good reason for why this forest was named the Lost Woods; it was extremely easy to get lost in here, and once you got lost, you were never found again.  
  
As Luigi walked close to Link's side, he recalled how the Hylian had told of his exploits in this forest, both in the present and seven years in the future. He'd explained with excitement how he'd gone to the Forest Temple and bested the ghost of Ganondorf's father, along with five sibling poltergeists, and rescued Saria from an enchanted sleep. He'd talked in great detail of the numerous times that he himself had gotten lost in these woods, by taking the wrong log-tunnel at intersections.  
  
Link had warned Luigi very strongly against wandering off the ancient path that wound through the forest. It was said that the very first Kokiri to ever settle in the forest made the trail to help unwary travelers. As long as you stayed on it, you'd always find yourself at the Woods' entrance when you get lost. But if you strayed, the woods would swallow you up and no one would ever find you again. Only the Kokiri, with their heightened senses and strange connection to the forest, could navigate the woods without using the path.  
  
As Luigi thought this he became increasingly nervous. What if they got separated from Saria? How would they get out again?  
  
From what Link had told him, they wouldn't.  
  
He suddenly hurried ahead until he was walking side-by-side with Saria, feeling a bit safer once he was close enough that there was little chance of them getting separated. Link followed and did the same.  
  
Despite her worries, Saria had to giggle a bit at this. They both looked so cute when they were nervous.  
  
"There it is." She spoke up, startling them both. She grinned at them, then her smile vanished as she remembered why they were here. They'd arrived at the edge of the clearing that marked the tree's former resting spot. Link hurried ahead, Luigi followed, and Saria brought up the rear.  
  
Link studied the crater very closely. Something about it seemed familiar to him.  
  
Luigi blinked over Link's shoulder when he saw and recognized the damage. "Hey! that's the crater from a laser-blast!"  
  
Link looked up at him. "Huh?"  
  
Luigi launched into a brief explanation on what a laser was, how they were made, et cetera. Link scratched his head when the plumber finished. "So.it's a beam of energy? And the energy comes from the sun?"  
  
"No, no, no. It has energy SIMILAR to that of the sun. The energy is called 'plasma'." Luigi corrected. "It comes from small battery-packs that you attach to the laser-gun."  
  
"Battery-packs?"  
  
"Kind of like containers for storing energy."  
  
Saria blinked twice. "Wow. That went completely over my head."  
  
Luigi sighed. "Never mind. The point is, I know what weapon was used against the tree."  
  
Link shot a confused glance at Saria. "I've never heard of a monster that could throw lasers-"  
  
"Actually, the lasers are shot. Kind of like how you use a slingshot, only think of the laser beam in place of the stone."  
  
"Oh, okay. Well, anyway, I can't think of any monsters that can.shoot.lasers. Whoever did this must've come from another world."  
  
"You mean like an alien?!" Luigi gasped excitedly.  
  
Link gave him a quizzical look. "A what?"  
  
"Um.nothing, forget it."  
  
Link shook his head. "No, I mean they got here from another dimension, like how you got here."  
  
Luigi 'Ah'd in understanding. Link stood up. "Well, we're not going to find whoever it is around here. By the looks of things, they're long gone. They might not even be in Hyrule anymore."  
  
Saria smiled. "That would certainly be a relief." She agreed. "Let's get back to the village and tell the other Kokiri." She bounded back into the forest, and they hastily followed.  
  
"Tell me, Luigi. How do you know so much about lasers?" Link asked as they hurried after their guide.  
  
"Well," Luigi started, "Bowser has a couple laser-guns that he sometimes uses on us as a last defense. One time he managed to build a massive laser- gun that could fire a beam with a 15-foot diameter."  
  
"Ouch." Link winced.  
  
"No kidding. He was planning to use it on the capital of the Mushroom Kingdom unless we handed Princess Peach over to him. But Mario destroyed it at the last minute, I think."  
  
"You think?"  
  
"Well, I wasn't there, so I don't really know for sure. At the time I had been visiting Peach's cousin, Daisy, in a neighboring kingdom called Sarasaland. I only heard about what had happened after I had gotten back."  
  
Link gave Luigi a small smile. "You seem to like this Daisy a lot."  
  
Luigi turned red. "Well.I, um.I mean, I don't.I.er." He stuttered.  
  
"I mean, from what you've told me, you visit her quite often. Why?"  
  
Luigi was completely red in the face by now. "I.I was checking up on her. You know, making sure she was safe and all."  
  
Link rolled his eyes and grinned. "Right. Never mind." He cut Luigi off, seeing as how the topic made the plumber unusually nervous. Best to let him figure it out for himself, Link decided. It's funny how a lover can be blind to their own love, even when the love is glaringly obvious to everyone else, he mused.  
  
Link's train of thought derailed as Luigi suddenly stopped walking and asked, "Where's Saria?"  
  
Link blinked, looked up, and also stopped. They were standing in a completely unfamiliar section of the forest, and Saria was nowhere to be seen. Link looked all around in a circle, but he saw no sign of the little green-haired Kokiri.  
  
"SARIA!" Link called out, hoping she could hear him. "SARIA, WHERE ARE YOU? SARIA!!"  
  
No response. Birds twittered overhead. Branches creaked. Leaves rustled in a light wind. Luigi's breaths began to quicken with fear. Link cupped his hands around his mouth and called again.  
  
"SARIA! LET ME HEAR FROM YOU!" He listened, but no reply came.  
  
"We're lost." Luigi whispered, the implications of what was happening finally beginning to sink in.  
  
"Shut up, Luigi! We're not lost!" Link growled, while praying that what he said was true. He called again, but either Saria was too far away to hear them, or wasn't able to hear his yells because of the plants and trees around them which muffled the noise.  
  
"We're lost. We're lost!" Luigi repeated in fear, nearly hyperventilating. Panic was slowly taking over his mind. "WE'RE LOST!"  
  
"Luigi, calm down! We're.hey! Get back here!" Luigi had succumbed to his panic and was now running into the trees, screaming his head off. Link quickly followed, not wanting them to get separated again.  
  
Link could still hear his companion's yells from up ahead, and followed them. Every now and then, he would catch a glimpse of Luigi ducking through the forest. The green plumber was running blindly, heedless of where he was going. He crashed through a tangle of bushes that formed a near-wall inbetween two trees, and as Link ran to catch up, he got his foot caught on a vine and fell flat on his face. He came up struggling, and wound up getting himself even more tangled in the plant than before. Finally he sighed and cut himself free with his sword. He didn't like harming plants, but right now he was in a hurry. He ran up beside Luigi and brushed excess dirt off himself. The plumber had stopped running and was staring, openmouthed, at something ahead. Link followed his gaze, and nearly fell over again in surprise. Whatever he had been expecting, it wasn't this.  
  
A makeshift campsite was set up in a clearing in front of them. A roaring fire crackled off to one side, with a pot of bubbling soup hanging over it. Tents dotted the area, and going to and fro between them were Koopas. They looked just like how Mario had described them. Link knew he would have laughed at their comical appearance if the situation hadn't been so serious.  
  
Luigi's panic resumed full-force. He screamed. "AAAAAAHHHH!"  
  
Everything froze. Silence descended upon all present.  
  
Link took his hands off his ears. A ghost of Luigi's scream still rang in the air, reverberating off trees throughout the forest. Every Koopa in the clearing stopped whatever they had been doing and looked straight at the newcomers. Several of them recognized Luigi and grabbed spears and other weapons, held them up in a threatening gesture, then began advancing slowly forward. Link attempted to count them. His total: a heck of a lot. He gave Luigi a worried look. This wasn't good.  
  
The Koopas charged.  
  
  
  
  
  
Sonic was thought by some of his friends to be rather ignorant. Some of them even went so far as to think him stupid. The truth was, he simply saw some things as more important to know than others. Who really cared if he could do advanced Calculus, or quote lines from some obscure book? He certainly didn't. If he had been able to think of a single time that he'd ever use that nonsense in the future for practical purposes, things might be different. But as it was, he had erased it from his memory after the initial lessons and tests he'd been put through during his youth to see if he knew the information. It wasn't like he couldn't remember the knowledge if he tried -- he just didn't care enough about it to do so.  
  
Despite this, however, there had always been certain categories in which he was very well learned. It never ceased to amaze people how well he knew them, but knew them he did, since he put them to good use every day:  
  
Inertia, momentum, horsepower, velocity, centrifugal force, acceleration, deceleration, friction, gravity, vectors, Newton's Laws of Motion. He knew it all, if only because it played an integral role in his running. He remembered how he had always aced his Physics tests, even if he performed dismally in all his others. He knew the science so well, in fact, that within two seconds of running he could calculate his speed in miles per hour, like a mental speedometer.  
  
At this point, while he was towing along two princesses through Bowser's sewer, he mentally calculated approximately how long he could continue running at this speed with Peach and Daisy's extra weight slowing him down. He estimated that at his current stamina, he could probably run for another nine to ten minutes before he collapsed from exhaustion. He made a mental note to be out of this dump before then.  
  
There was a wall up ahead. Without thinking, Sonic tried to put on the brakes. Nothing happened, he just continued to slide along the liquid's surface at the same speed. He remembered that he couldn't stop on top of the sewage and almost growled in annoyance. At this speed, hitting that wall would hurt. Not to mention that he was towing two fragile humans that weren't as durable as he was.  
  
Luckily, the Blue Blur noticed a broken piece of thin metal pipe lodged firmly in a mountain of garbage up ahead. The pipe was sticking out into his path. With mere miliseconds to act, he reached out and grabbed the metal cylinder with one hand.  
  
Sonic gasped as the sudden, abrupt halt nearly made his arm dislocate from his shoulder. Fiery pain shot up his torso and engulfed his entire side. He gritted his teeth in agony and quietly told the princesses that they could let go now. They quickly did so, glad that their wild ride was over.  
  
Sonic looked around, ignoring the throbbing pain around his shoulderblade. They had arrived in a small square room that adjoined the rest of the garbage pit. Unlike the rest of the pit, whose walls were made of stone, this room had rusty metal plating on its walls. The garbage was piled up impossibly high in here, creating small hills and valleys that blocked of his view from most of the room.  
  
Peach blinked. "Where are we now?"  
  
"I'd wager we're still in the garbage pit, Princess." Sonic ventured. He wrinkled his nose. "My, what a lovely smell we've discovered! It seems like it's even worse in here!"  
  
"I've got a bad feeling about this." Daisy muttered.  
  
A sudden chill swept through Sonic as he felt something cold and slimy slither by him. He yelped in surprise and pulled his foot out of the muck.  
  
"What is it?" Peach demanded.  
  
"Something just moved past my leg!" Sonic cried out.  
  
A single eyeball placed on a thin stalk of membrane emerged from the water behind the princesses and looked around. "There!" Sonic yelled, pointing. "Do you see that?!"  
  
Peach and Daisy whirled, but the eye dropped back into the water with a 'plop' just before they could see it. "See what?" Daisy asked, looking around and finding nothing unusual.  
  
Sonic's reply was cut off as he was abruptly dragged underneath the water. He was cut off in mid-yell as he went under. Both Daisy and Peach screamed.  
  
"Sonic!" Daisy cried, pushing flotsam and jetsam aside to get a clear look under the liquid. "Sonic!!"  
  
Sonic suddenly burst up to the surface, a thick, brown tentacle the size of a tree trunk wrapped firmly around his neck. He gasped and wheezed for breath, grabbing the tentacle with both hands and struggling to get it off. He attempted to form some words. "Hit it! Hit it!"  
  
"Where?" Peach cried. She was looking around frantically, looking for the source of the tentracle.  
  
"Anywhere!" Sonic choked.  
  
Peach pulled out the shiny sword she'd obtained earlier and began swinging with it while Daisy grabbed a couple sharp pieces of metal from the garbage and helped. Both of them randomly slashed into the water, hoping to hit whatever it was that had grabbed the hedgehog. Apparently they must have, because something let out a deep, pained roar and Sonic was pulled back under.  
  
"Sonic!!"  
  
Sonic suddenly burst to the surface again, this time without the tentacle. He sucked in breath after breath, relieving his oxygen debt and grateful to be alive.  
  
"Where'd it go??" Peach demanded.  
  
"I don't know.it just let go of me and swam away!" Sonic coughed, getting to his feet. He'd almost breathed in a mouthful of liquid under the surface.  
  
All three of them paused as they heard a deep bass rumble and a clank of extending chains.  
  
They blinked at each other. All was silent for a moment, then-  
  
The creaking and squeaking of active machinery grew in pitch and intensity until it drowned out almost all other sound. Meanwhile, the metallic walls of the room began to slowly crush inwards. Their eyes grew wide in horrified realization as they realized where they were.  
  
"It's a trash compactor!!" Sonic yelled. 


	11. Chapter Ten: Ground Zero

The Crossover Saga  
  
By Stoney (stoney107@yahoo.com)  
  
Author/Narrator: At last! In light of my birthday coming on August 5th (Sweet Sixteen! Yeah!) I have decided to grace you all with a new portion of this story. It's been awhile in coming, but here it is! Chapter 10 of The Crossover Saga! Yahoo! Caffeine is good, yes it is!  
  
Chapter 10 Ground Zero  
  
  
  
Darkness.  
  
Above, a jagged bolt of light flashed, illuminating the dark gray clouds for a brief millisecond before vanishing. Booms rippled across the sky shortly afterward.  
  
Another bolt appeared. The light lashed out at a large edifice on the ground, revealing stone architecture and castle turrets in the brief moment of visibility.  
  
The light disappeared. Rumbles shook the heavens.  
  
Darkness returned.  
  
Now the lightning came in quick succession, allowing one to see more detail in the shape that blocked out the sky with its bulk. It sat upon a hill, steep in sides and bare of grass, for no sunlight could pierce the thick clouds above to let life grow there. At the top of the mound of earth sat the structure, surrounded by dark, unhealthy-looking liquid, and bridged by a massive wooden drawbridge. A steel porticullis had been lowered in front of the enormous door, which was closed and locked securely. Tiny barred windows peeked out of the stone like prairie dogs from their holes, their meager internal light doing little to help brighten the outside. Towers of stone and mortar jutted up from the building's top, their roofs pointed and sharp. The entire building squatted upon the countryside like an immense cancerous growth, flanked by distant mountains and basking in the darkness.  
  
The squadron of SWATbots gazed at it impassively. The robot at the front of the group raised its arm to its voice speaker and activated a small radio. "Dr. Robotnik, SWATleader reporting in. We have located a new Zone portal."  
  
Behind the group of robots, a glowing red portal tinted everything with a blood-red hue. Its swirling light reflected dimly off the steel chrome of the SWATbots' bodies. Another voice crackled through the transmitter on the leader's wrist. "Have you entered the portal yet?"  
  
"Yes, sir." Was the emotionless reply. "The portal was guarded by several reptilic creatures carrying primitive weapons, but they have been dealt with." The robot didn't mention that its squadron had lost several robots to the guards, as well. "The area beyond the portal appears to be in the midst of a lightning storm. No rain is present. Ahead of us is what appears to be a replica of a medieval castle."  
  
"Activate the cameras." Robotnik ordered. The digital "eyes" of the robots all lit up as what they were seeing was sent back to their master.  
  
Robotnik studied the images closely on several of his monitors. They were distorted and lined with static due to interferance from the Zone, but he was still able to just barely make out some sort of building on top of a hill. Very interesting. He did not believe this Zone had been found before. This must be where Mecha had gone, apparently. But why hadn't the robot reported in to him?  
  
"SWATleader, continue your search for Metal Sonic in the new Zone. I want reports on your progress every half hour. If Mecha is found, bring him back to base for repairs. Robotnik out."  
  
"Affirmative. SWATleader out." The robot clicked off the radio, then turned to the other robots and said only two words; "Let's go." The group obediently marched in military formation toward the looming building ahead, until the reflections of the portal's light off their steel armor vanished into the darkness.  
  
  
  
More lightning crackled overhead, framing the lone castle's contorted silhouette against the dark gray sky. Few wildlife survived in the unwelcome area, but some still managed to nonetheless. Long ago had they grown used to the bellowing rumbles from the heavens, to the point where they barely heard them anymore. They had not heard any other sound for years, until today.  
  
"PLUMBER!!!!"  
  
The sound could best be compared to that of a volcanic eruption, or an atomic bomb explosion. It shook the foundations upon which the stone-and- mortar building stood, causing avalanches of rocks and dirt to fall from the mountains several miles away. The storm rumbled in response.  
  
Then at last the echoes of the scream died away, leaving behind only the dark semi-silence that had always surrounded Koopa Castle.  
  
At ground zero inside the castle's stone walls, Bowser stood livid. His face had turned a deep purple, eyes bulging out of their sockets. Tiny flames shot out of his nostrils with each breath. His teeth and claws were clenched so tight that Kamek feared they might break. His entire body shook with fury. He was the one who had just screamed.  
  
Bowser attempted to say something else, but his rage had rendered him incapable of coherent speech. He simply roared again, the sound temporarily deafening all present. At the opposite end of the castle, people winced at the noise. It sounded like several Tyrannosaurus Rexes bellowing at once.  
  
Bowser might not have taken this new development so badly, if he hadn't just been informed by Kamek that the princesses weren't in their chambers when the Magikoopa had gone to check up on them. At first the Koopa King suspected they had merely gone on a walk through the castle or something (he didn't remember that he had locked their doors), But now Mario was here, and that almost always certainly meant he was breaking them out.  
  
With amazing speed for someone so large, Bowser stomped right up in front of Mario and grabbed him around the neck with both claws. Mario gasped and choked as Bowser slowly began to squeeze, cutting off his oxygen supply. Bowser leaned in until his face was mere inches away from Mario's. The plumber kicked his feet and flailed his fists wildly in an attempt to hit the Koopa King; unfortunately, Bowser held him out away from his body and Mario couldn't reach him. His struggles only served to infuriate Bowser more.  
  
"WHERE IS SHE, MARIO?!? WHERE HAVE YOU TAKEN HER?? ANSWER ME!!" He bellowed.  
  
Mario winced at the noise and attempted to reply, but could only choke.  
  
"WHAT WAS THAT?!" Bowser roared again, shaking Mario violently.  
  
Kamek floated up to Bowser's ear-equivalent and quietly whispered. "My lord, perhaps you should put him down. He probably can't speak when you hold him like that."  
  
Bowser growled loudly and almost didn't take the advice. There was something oddly satisfying about holding the one person who'd caused him so much trouble in such a helpless position. But his love for Peach overrode any thoughts of revenge. He released Mario.  
  
Mario landed on the floor and immediately dropped to his knees, gasping and coughing horribly while massaging his sore neck. He felt very dizzy and nauseous, and there was a funny ringing noise in his ears.  
  
Bowser leaned down and looked Mario square in the eye, his seemingly-calm tone masking the rage underneath. "I will ask you only one more time, plumber, and then I will get violent. WHERE. IS. PEACH."  
  
"I...(cough)..."  
  
"Take your time." Bowser suggested sarcastically.  
  
"...I...don't know..."  
  
Bowser slapped him across the face, leaving three long claw-marks in his cheek. The force of the blow threw Mario onto his back, with Bowser leaning over him.  
  
"Wrong answer." The Koopa King growled. "You will tell me what you have done with her NOW, or I swear right now on the grave of the first Koopa King that I will rip you apart limb from limb in front of your friends."  
  
Mario's mind raced furiously. He could feel the blood from his three new wounds seeping down his face. How was he going to get out of this one?  
  
"Hey!" A shout came from Bowser's right. "Leave him alone!"  
  
"Yeah," another voice joined the first, "what Mega said! SUPLEX!"  
  
A flash of light made Bowser blink and squint. He looked in the direction of the disturbance to find Mega Man leveling an arm cannon in his direction and Kirby standing defiantly with a blue bandanna tied around his forehead. Bowser ignored the robot, but blinked in surprise at the other odd creature. He quickly got over it, though.  
  
"Stay out of this, Powderpuff!" He snarled. It was the wrong thing to say.  
  
Kirby's eye twitched. His skin turned deep red. He began to swell up like a balloon in rage.  
  
"Uh-oh..." Mega Man muttered, slowly backing away from the seething Dreamlander.  
  
"NOBODY...CALLS...ME...POWDERPUFF!!!" Kirby screamed. "NINJA DROP!"  
  
With speed greater even than what Bowser had exhibited, Kirby rushed forward, grabbed Bowser around the waist, and jumped as hard as he could. To the amazement of all present, Kirby's momentum was strong enough to propel him and Bowser off the floor and through the ceiling. Unfortunately for the Koopa King, they were on the castle's bottom floor. Since he was taller than Kirby, his head took the brunt of the crash.and the one after that.and the one after that.  
  
By the time Kirby's upward momentum ran out, he and Bowser had exited the castle through the roof, and the latter was in quite a lot of pain. Unfortunately, he was still conscious for what happened next. With expert precision, Kirby suddenly reversed directions as gravity's invisible hand began to pull on them. Bowser roared and flailed around as they both began to free-fall.  
  
  
  
Sonic looked around frantically for the entrance they'd arrived through. Unfortunately, it had been covered up by the trash being moved inward by the compactor. "Try to brace the walls with something!" He yelled, grabbing the pipe he'd used as a brake earlier and jerking it out of the pile. He put it up against the walls, which promptly began bending it in half.  
  
"No good!" Daisy cried. She and Peach were scrambling up the trash piles. "Get on top of it!" She called to her cousin.  
  
"I'm trying!" Peach snapped back.  
  
Sonic was beginning to panic. "Well, one thing's for sure," He quipped, "we're gonna be a whole lot thinner!"  
  
  
  
Down, down, down...12 stories flashed by at alarming speed. Kirby and Bowser crashed through the bottom floor into the basement with the sickening crack of broken stone. They both landed on top of a massive pile of garbage, effectively flattening it. As they hit the floor of the basement, a small explosion engulfed them both. Kirby leaped clear, flipped through the air, and landed lightly on his feet, slightly breathless. The entire process had taken less than three seconds.  
  
Somehow, Bowser's thick skull survived the collision, and the mysterious explosion. The impact had created a small crater in the floor and had scattered garbage everywhere. He stood on his head at the crater's center for a couple seconds, his eyes pointing in two different directions, and his tongue hanging out of one side of his mouth. Then he fell onto his back, knocked senseless.  
  
Kirby stood where he had landed, panting heavily from expending so much energy on that jump. "OKAY!" He screamed, still furious. "WHO'S NEXT?! HUH?!? JUST SAY IT, I DARE YA!!"  
  
Sonic, Peach, and Daisy blinked at them both, looked at each other, then shrugged and went back to escaping.  
  
  
  
Up above, Mario, Kapi, Mega Man, and Kamek were all staring openmouthed at the holes Kirby and Bowser had made in the floor and ceiling. Mario slowly approached the hole in the floor and peeked over its edge. What he saw was a very bruised Bowser lying spread-eagled on the basement floor, unconscious and surrounded by piles and piles of unrecognizable trash. Slightly relieved, he leaped down.  
  
As soon as Peach saw Mario land she let out a cry of surprise and tackled him, hugging him tightly around the waist. "Mario! Get us out of here!!" She screamed, eyes squeezed tight in fear. The strong smell of sewage emanating from her ruined dress nearly knocked Mario over, and he held his nose, taking deep breaths through his mouth.  
  
Daisy took more time to go greet Mario, greeting him in a more dignified manner. Sonic stood still, feeling as if he'd missed something.  
  
"Boy, am I glad to see you." Daisy commented as she approached. "What happened to your face?"  
  
Mario's hand strayed to the three diagonal cuts he now sported. He quickly dropped it again, but not before noticing that its white fabric was stained with blood. "It's nothing." He replied shortly. He looked around the room. "Where are we, and how did you get here?" He asked, changing the subject.  
  
"It would take too long to explain how, but we're stuck in a trash compactor. Can you get us out?"  
  
Mario's eyes bulged in surprise. "WHAT?!" He looked around and noticed the walls had moved a couple feet inward during the few seconds they'd been talking. "Eep." Without another word he leaped straight up, sailing through the hole in the ceiling. Peach, who was still holding onto him, got towed up with him.  
  
Mario landed on the ground of the first floor. "Peach, you can let go now." He informed the princess who still had a death grip on him. Peach opened her eyes, looked around, and quickly let go of Mario, her cheeks crimson. Mario didn't notice, since he was going back through the hole to retrieve Daisy.  
  
When he stuck his head in the hole a third time and offered to help Sonic, the hedgehog merely waved it aside. "I can get out myself. Watch." He jumped, revved up, and began running up one of the walls, using inertia to overcome gravity. When he reached the ceiling he raced along it until he reached the hole and zoomed up through it.  
  
Mario blinked at this performance. "Oh. Okay."  
  
Kirby then appeared, floating out of the hole and waving his arms up and down as if he were flapping. So THAT'S how he flies, Mario realized.  
  
Sonic stopped himself by leaning back and leaving twin skid-marks in the floor. Kirby landed and exhaled a giant breath of air. Introductions were made. Sonic felt slightly disappointed that he apparently hadn't impressed Mario with his speed. Truth was, Mario was very impressed, but so much had happened to him recently that it seemed like nothing new.  
  
Sonic grew extremely alarmed when he was introduced to Mega Man. He leaped away as if burned, and cried, "You're a robot!"  
  
Mega Man looked at him oddly. "Yeah, that's true." He admitted with a shrug. "So what?"  
  
"Stay AWAY from me!" Sonic yelled, quickly backpedaling away until his back hit a wall. "I know all about your kind!"  
  
Mega Man exchanged a slow look with the others, wondering what was wrong with this newcomer. "Hey, look, I'm not going to hurt you--" Mega Man began cautiously. Unfortunately, he was talking to thin air. Sonic had sped away at his trademark speeds a moment earlier. "-great." He finished with a sigh.  
  
Mario looked around and noticed some people missing. "Where's Kamek and Kapi?"  
  
A cry came up from below, answering part of his question. "KING BOWSER! WAKE UP! PLEASE!!"  
  
Mario looked in the hole. The trash compactor had moved quite a ways inward. Only about five yards or so now separated the two walls from each other. On top of the piles of trash that had been pushed into one big pile by the walls, Kapi kneeled, trying to revive Bowser. It was obvious she wouldn't be leaving until the Koopa King did so.  
  
Mario debated whether he should help them. On the one hand, the person lying unconscious down there was his worst enemy. It was the person who continually kidnapped Peach and wrecked Castle Toadstool. It was the person who wanted to steal away Peach's heart and marry her.  
  
On the other hand, one of his friends was also down there.  
  
Mario sighed. "I'm gonna regret this." He muttered. He leaped down into the hole.  
  
  
  
  
  
In the several thousand years that the Lost Woods have existed, it has been prone to some pretty strange events and things. It housed the Forest Temple, a sacred holy place to the Kokiri. It contained a hedge maze that led to the Sacred Forest Meadow. Deep within its depths was an as-of-yet undiscovered portal to an alternate dimension called Termina. It was home to Skull Kids and Deku scrubs, not to mention Wolfos and an array of other creatures.  
  
But never had it experienced anything like this.  
  
Luigi leaped like an acrobat, ducking and dodging frantically. His feet seemed to have springs on their soles; as soon as he hit the ground, he had to leap upward again to avoid an arrow or spear that had been thrown his way. Shells flew left and right as he began pouncing on the Koopas. Link used more conventional methods, getting out his slingshot and nailing the turtles between the eyes with rocks and other objects. He ducked behind a rock outcropping to avoid a hail of arrows, then quickly stood up and lobbed a few more projectiles before ducking back down to avoid the return volley. Suddenly one of the Koopa shells launched by Luigi skidded his way and stopped, practically next to him. It gave Link an idea.  
  
Link loaded the shell into his slingshot. It just barely fit. He pulled the band back, took aim, and released!  
  
KA-POW! BAM! SMACK! WHAM! CRASH! WHACK! The shell felled enemies like bowling pins, carving a straight path through the Koopa ranks. Link hooked his slingshot back to his belt and got out his sword and shield. Time for a little melee action.  
  
He leaped away from his hiding place and immediately ducked and rolled, preventing himself from getting hit by arrows. He jumped to his feet and surged forward, holding his shield in front of him for protection as weapons bounced off it with loud reports. He jumped back as a Koopa brought a sharp spear-end swishing through the air where he had been moments before. He blocked another thrust from his left and went into a series of sword slashes that forced the Koopas to retreat or get sliced. They retreated.  
  
Luigi landed next to Link, the thrill of battle pumping in his veins. It seemed quite unlike him to get this worked up about a fight; normally he'd be kinda afraid. He shrugged it off and asked Link how well he was faring.  
  
"Pretty good, considering." He grunted while sidestepping a thrown spear. Luigi nodded and jumped away. Suddenly one of the braver Koopas attacked from behind and knocked Link's sword out of his reach. "Hey!" Link yelled in outrage. He leaped aside to avoid another attack and wrenched his attacker's spear away. "Give me that!"  
  
The turtle was thrown off-balance by the action and fell backwards onto his shell. There it waved its arms and legs frantically, unable to right itself and only succeeding in rocking back and forth. Link snickered at the hapless Koopa's predicament and left it there, rejoining the battle.  
  
Link backflipped over a low swipe and brought his spear down in a terrific blow that cracked one of the Koopa's shells. He used his spear's blunt end to trip up another enemy and ducked as an archer shot more arrows at him. Luigi landed next to him again. "Yahoo!" He cheered, slightly loopy from all his jumping.  
  
Link blinked and tossed his spear over to Luigi. "Could you hold that for me, please?"  
  
Luigi shrugged. "Sure, I-eep!" Three arrows on a collision course with Luigi's head embedded themselves in the wooden shaft.  
  
Link grabbed the spear back. "Thanks." He resumed fighting, knocking out the archer that had thrown the projectiles. Luigi, feeling rather shaken, jumped skyward again. The ground seemed a bit too dangerous for the moment.  
  
"HA! Take that!" Link cried, blocking and parrying like crazy. He noticed the Koopas beginning to retreat. He chased after them, swinging his spear at their heels while gleefully throwing taunts at them, giving them a good reason to run. The thrill of the battle was almost intoxicating him, and he was loving every moment of it.  
  
Finally the last of the turtles disappeared into an orange portal. Link shook his spear triumphantly at them. "AND STAY AWAY!" He yelled after them. He walked back through the empty camp to retrieve his sword. He almost threw his spear away, then changed his mind. The thing proved useful during the battle. Who knows, he might need it later.  
  
He met back up with Luigi at the middle of the formerly-occupied camp. "You're hurt." Link remarked with concern, pointing at Luigi's side. The plumber looked down and saw the long slash in his overalls with the thin cut on his skin below. The wound wasn't big, but it was deep. Only a thin trickle of blood had begun to leak out of it.  
  
"Yeah, I got it when some of the Koopas teamed up on me. Don't worry, it doesn't hurt that much." Luigi reassured him.  
  
"Still, we should dress it anyway. It might get infected." Link replied. He began to walk away. "Come here." Link led Luigi over to the edge of the woods and plucked a few leaves off of the trees. He pasted the leaves to the cut, making Luigi wince a tiny bit at the pain. Then Link used a small bit of rope inside one of the tents to tie the leaves around Luigi's waist, securing them. "The leaves from this plant produce a special extract that's useful in healing wounds." He explained while he worked. "Hylians often use them in their healing potions."  
  
"Great." Luigi replied unenthusiastically. He waited patiently while Link secured the rope, then moved around to test its flexibility. The rope didn't seem like it would get in his way. "Thanks."  
  
"Welcome. Now, do you want to go explore that portal, or just wait here all day?"  
  
Luigi glanced around them. "What portal? I don't--"  
  
"I saw it when I chased the Koopas away." Link continued with exaggerated patience. "It's at the other end of the camp. See?" He pointed.  
  
Luigi craned his neck to look, and could just barely make out the orange glow of the portal through several obstructing trees. "Yeah, I see it. You want to explore it." It was a statement, not a question.  
  
Link's eyes sparkled with a yearning for adventure. "You betcha. Come on!" He grabbed Luigi's hand and dragged him through the camp at a run. When they reached the portal Luigi finally regained his feet and jerked his hand out of Link's grip. "Stop that. I can walk myself."  
  
Link shrugged. "Sorry." They stepped through the portal at the same time, side-by-side. The world turned orange...then white...before abruptly fading to black.  
  
"Hey, don't leave me like this!" The trapped Koopa yelled. "Wait! Get back here!!"  
  
  
  
Unknown time passed. Luigi slowly emerged to consciousness, his senses gradually returning to him. He was lying on something hard and cold. He could see through his eyelids flickers of light coming from somewhere. The air smelled musty and slightly damp. He shivered involuntarily at the chilly air that whipped at his back. Slowly he opened his eyes.  
  
The first thing he noticed was the stone. Stone walls, stone floor, stone ceiling high overhead. Torches flickered above, wedged securely into stone holders carved out of the walls. The stone continued onward until it left the torches' range of light and faded into darkness. Then Luigi recognized it.  
  
The cut of the stone blocks was perfectly cubical. The stones were a dull ashey gray, reflecting only a little of the reddish torchlight. Everything was silent. Water dripped somewhere in the distance. Luigi's own breathing suddenly seemed unnaturally loud in the quiet stillness. He looked around some more.  
  
To his right lay Link, lying on his stomach like Luigi was. He, too, was out of it. He was completely still, not moving a muscle, silent as a tomb. Had Luigi not known better, he would have suspected his companion was dead.  
  
Luigi sat up and began to move over to his friend, but was struck by a sudden dizzy spell and had to sink back to his knees. As soon as the world stopped spinning, he tried again. This time he was able to crawl over without any ill effects. He shook Link's shoulder gently. "Link. Hey, Link, wake up."  
  
Link stirred and groaned. "Not now, Malon. Lemme sleep a little more....." He mumbled. Luigi snickered. The noise woke Link up completely, and his eyes blinked open. He sat up and glanced around them. "Where are we?"  
  
"Bowser's castle." Luigi replied while helping the Hylian to his feet. "We're back in my world now."  
  
"We are?" Link replied faintly while holding his head to ease the pounding headache he suddenly had. After a couple moments the pain faded, and he was able to look around them again. "Bowser isn't much of an interior decorator, is he?"  
  
"You don't know the half of it." Luigi grinned. The two stood there for a couple moments longer. "I don't remember this part of the castle at all." Luigi finally remarked.  
  
"You mean we're lost?"  
  
Luigi gave a small shrug. "Looks like it. Might as well start walking and see where we wind up." Luigi moved up ahead and vanished into the darkness. Link followed close behind.  
  
Neither of them knew what hit them. A whoosh of air hit their faces, and suddenly a horrendously loud noise stabbed directly into their brains. Their heads felt like they had exploded, chimes and bells rang in their ears, stars and lights flashed before their vision, and they fell limply to the ground writhing in pain.  
  
It took several minutes for the pounding in Luigi's head to calm down, and even longer for his ears to stop ringing. When he was finally able to lift his head without feeling sick he stood shakily to his feet and walked over to Link.  
  
Link was gasping for breath after breath, grateful to still be alive. Luigi pulled him to his feet and he swayed unsteadily, holding on to Luigi's shoulder for balance. "What in the name of Din was that?" Link gasped.  
  
"I don't know. Whatever it was, it was loud." Luigi replied. He could hear something echoing further down the hallway, and shivered despite the fact that the area was fairly warm. "Let's keep going."  
  
Link nodded and continued walking next to Luigi. Neither said anything for a good while after that, except to argue over which way to go at intersections. Luigi usually won these small arguments because he had been in the castle before. At one point Luigi noticed there were no torches put up along the walls in the hallway they were walking down. They stopped and backtracked to the last torch they had passed, and Luigi grabbed it out of its holder. There was another torch placed on the opposite wall, and Link took that one.  
  
Now armed with light, the companions continued their cautious journey.  
  
  
  
Sonic fled at nearly the speed of sound. That robot had scared him, mainly because of how lifelike it seemed. If it hadn't been for the robot's odd armor, he would never have guessed it wasn't organic. He didn't want to have anything to do with robots. They were the main weapons his archnemesis used against him, and he'd learned not to trust any of them.  
  
He could feel the sound barrier straining against him, like an invisible wall, tugging at his arms and legs. He pushed himself to go faster, and the barrier broke with a thunderous sonic boom.  
  
He saw two blurs of green color go by at high speed, but didn't stop to look at them. He just kept running.  
  
  
  
"King Bowser! Please get up!"  
  
Kapi was close to tears. Her king was unconscious and in the worst possible location to be. The walls were unceasingly closing inward on them, like the jaws of death come to take their victim. She stomped and yelled, shook Bowser by the shoulders and even tried slapping him across the face, but nothing could wake him. Now she was sitting next to him blinking away the tears that wanted to flow from her eyes, pleading futilely for her king to revive before he was killed.  
  
Mario landed next to Bowser and took in the scene at once. Kapi's eyes widened and she practically leapt with joy. "Mario! You've come to help! Oh, thank you!"  
  
"Well, I, um..." Mario scratched the back of his neck uneasily.  
  
"Mario, what are you DOING?!" Peach screeched from above. "You'll get killed! Get back up here RIGHT NOW!"  
  
"Sorry Princess, I'm helping out a friend!" Mario replied. As an afterthought, he added, "And it isn't Bowser!" Kapi blinked in confusion.  
  
"Hey, Mario, need any help?" It was Mega Man's voice. Mario looked up and saw the big blue eyes of his robot companion staring back questionably.  
  
Mario waved the offer aside. "Nah. I can get this guy out of here easy, But you might want to back away from the hole a bit before I start." Mega Man's face nodded and disappeared from view. "That includes you, too." Mario added to Kapi. The female Koopa obediently stepped back a couple meters, wringing her hands anxiously.  
  
Mario rubbed his hands together and reached underneath Bowser. He groped around for a bit, being careful not to prick himself on Bowser's spike- studded shell. Finally he found what he was looking for; the tail. He grabbed it in both hands. Grinning wickedly, Mario began to swing Bowser around in a circle. When he had enough speed, he tilted the angle of the swing so that it was almost vertical. Then he released Bowser when he was pointed upwards towards the hole with a gleeful cheer of, "Yah-hoo!"  
  
Bowser went sailing up...up...up...  
  
...and missed the hole entirely, smacking into the still-intact part of the ceiling right next to it. The Koopa King fell back to the floor, now more bruised than ever.  
  
There was absolute silence for two seconds.  
  
"Um...oops." Mario mumbled sheepishly. He quickly glanced in Kapi's direction to see her giving him a look which made him wish HE were unconscious instead of Bowser. Indeed, Kapi was looking as if she would punch him out right there and do him the favor . "Mario.....you.....did.....that.....on.....purpose....." She clenched her teeth and spat out each word separately.  
  
Mario quickly began backing away from the seething Koopa, raising up his hands in a defensive posture. "Kapi, I didn't mean to! It was an accident! Honest!"  
  
Kapi didn't seem remotely convinced. However, before a major argument (or perhaps a fight) could start, something happened which made the two of them completely forget what had just occurred.  
  
The low, monotonous rumbling that had accompanied everything up until now cut out. On either side, the rusted metal walls came to a halt with a protesting screech.  
  
"Huh?" Mario grunted.  
  
From the previously-moving walls came a crackling sound, then a familiar voice saying, "Guys? Are you alright? Hello?"  
  
Mario located the source of the noise as a speaker built into the wall up near the ceiling. "Kamek? Is that you?"  
  
"Yes." The voice replied. "I'm in the control room for the garbage compactor. Sorry I took so long, but the door was locked and I couldn't find the key. Is King Bowser all right?"  
  
Mario looked at the battered Koopa who was once again lying on the floor. "Um, well.....in a manner of speaking....."  
  
"Good. You guys need to hurry and get him out of there; I managed to delay the compactor, but I can't stop it. The system is going to automatically start up again in a few minutes. Leave, quickly!"  
  
Mario grimaced and turned back to face Kapi and Bowser. "Right."  
  
The ceiling creaked. Nobody noticed it.  
  
"How the heck are we gonna get Bowser out of there?" Mega Man wondered. An idea suddenly occurred to the robot. "Hang on...Kirby, could you try that 'Ninja Drop' trick you used on him earlier to jump out of there?"  
  
Kirby frowned. "I am NOT going to help HIM! He called me a.....a.....argh, never mind! Besides, even if I did try that, we'd just go through the ceiling of this floor again. And I doubt he'd survive another attack like the last one."  
  
"Well, he's way too heavy for me to haul up by jumping, and my arms are too tired to try another throw." Mario replied. Something within the walls sqeaked and groaned, reminding him that they were running out of time. "Kamek, if you can still hear us, we could use some help here!!"  
  
"There's nothing I can do!" Kamek wailed, sounding a lot less calm than before. "The system's just locked me out! It's overridden all my commands!"  
  
"Then use your magic!"  
  
"I can't use my full power without my old broomstick! It contained a magic amplifier that allowed me to perform my spells!"  
  
"Then just send a Bomb-omb to bust us out!" Mario argued, frustrated.  
  
"Are you insane??" Kamek's voice was shrill with panic. "An explosion like that could destroy the entire castle!"  
  
"ARRGH! Forget it, we'll improvise! Mega Man, I need you down here!"  
  
The blue robot landed next to Mario with a clang. "What's up?"  
  
"How hot do you suppose those bullet-things from your gun are?"  
  
"What, you mean the plasma from my Mega-Buster? Oh, around several hundred degrees, I'd estimate. Why?"  
  
"Good. We can use them."  
  
---------------  
  
  
  
Author/Narrator: Ooh, a cliffhanger! I'm just horrible to you guys, aren't I? (Dramatic voice) What's Mario's plan gonna be? Where's Sonic going? How do Luigi and Link fit into this, and why can't I find the ham sandwitch I just made? Tune in to your local computer to find out, on the next chapter of The Crossover Saga!  
  
Man, I've gotta get some more caffeine. Where's my Vanilla Coke when I need it.....? 


	12. Chapter Eleven: Disaster

THE FINE PRINT: If you want to find out who owns what and such, then please refer to the Prolouge for the jibber-jabber. By the way, to all the lawyers reading this: Is it true that you have nothing better to do than read fanfiction such as this one? Why do all of you carry the exact same kinds of briefcases? Is it possible that a lawyer somewhere in the world likes Pez candy? Do any of you ever pretend you're an airplane? I do. I run around in circles and say "ZOOOOOM!" It's fun, try it sometime! Can you snort Jell-O up your noses? I once saw someone do that. Would I get sent to jail for killing an ant with an ear of corn? 'Cause if I can, YOU'LL NEVER GET ME! YOU'VE GOT NOTHING ON ME, YOU HEAR?? NOTHING!!! Ahem. Er, sorry about that.  
  
CAUTION! The Crossover Saga has a low occurrence of side effects, including uncontrollable laughing and crying as well as the sudden, intense urge to eat fuzzy pickles. Don't ask your doctor before switching from other fanfiction to The Crossover Saga. While adjusting to the change, you might not be able to cope as well with renegade staplers taking over your living room. If you are nursing, pregnant or may become pregnant, go ahead and read the story anyway. I'm not stopping you.  
  
~End!~  
  
(No actual ants were harmed in the making of this Fine Print.)  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Random Irritated Reader: Let's get on with the friggin' story already!  
  
Crossover Saga A Fanfiction by Stoney (stoney107@yahoo.com)  
  
  
  
Chapter 11---Bankruptcy  
  
Stoney: WHAT?! I'm bankrupt?!? NOOOOO!!!  
  
  
  
(Just kidding, everyone! Here's the REAL title.)  
  
  
  
Chapter 11---Disaster  
  
  
  
"You don't know what you've got 'till it's gone....."  
  
--Joni Mitchell, Big Yellow Taxi  
  
  
  
Bowser's Castle, 2:03 PM.  
  
  
  
Breathe. In. Out.  
  
Loud sound. Floor shake. Wall shake. Ceiling shake.  
  
Sound stop. Shake stop.  
  
Breathe. In. Out.  
  
......what happen?  
  
Come out of shadows, look around.  
  
AAH! Light! Too much! Too bright!  
  
Retreat into shadows. Darkness...better. Feel better.  
  
Breathe. In. Out.  
  
Need more darkness. What do...?  
  
.......wait for more darkness, then strike.  
  
Breathe. In. Out.  
  
  
  
-----------------------------------  
  
  
  
Kraig let out a monster yawn as he stretched the kinks out of his muscles. 'What a boring day', he mused to himself. Leaning against the shut door behind him, he lazily crossed his arms over his chest and gazed at the world through half-closed eyes.  
  
A few minutes passed, and he gave another quick glance around the area. Nothing new there; The hallway outside the Central Control Room was as empty as ever. It made a 90-degree turn, and the door to the room behind him sat on the outermost wall of it, right next to the corner. One of the gas-powered torches on the eastern wall kept going out--he'd have to get someone to look at that. Occasionally another Koopa guard would pass by, talking lightly of how uneventful their shifts had been. Other than that, there was nothing of interest going on.  
  
Kraig was toying with the idea of taking a lunch break when he heard an odd sort of banging noise come from the other side of the door he was leaning on. He opened his eyes and stood up, wondering if Mario was invading the fortress again. He disregarded the idea at once-how could the plumber have gotten past him into the room he was guarding when he'd been standing in front of its only opening? He quickly unhooked a spear from his shell, brandishing it in front of him like a sword. 'Might as well be prepared in case something happened,' he decided.  
  
The banging sound was growing louder. By now, Kraig could definitely tell it was coming from inside the Central Control room. The only person in there at this time was Kamek, he knew. Perhaps the Magikoopa was having some computer trouble?  
  
Kraig glanced at his watch. Almost time for the next shift to start. Maybe he should let the next assigned guard take care of this problem...he began to walk down the corridor and away from the room. The action saved his life.  
  
"I HATE COMPUTERS!" Someone screamed, their muffled voice echoing randomly off the walls. Startled, Kraig glanced back at the door he'd been standing in front of as the voice screamed again:  
  
"BOLT 4!"  
  
A large explosion from within the Central Control Room disintegrated the door. Kraig's eyes widened. 'Holy crap, what's going on?!' He frantically thought as he started running back to the post he'd just left.  
  
"I HATE THEM!!"  
  
A red glow emitted from the Control Room's dark depths. Kraig screeched to a halt with a gasp as he recognized what was about to happen, then spun around 180 degrees and began running down the hallway in the opposite direction.  
  
"FIRE 2!"  
  
Numerous spheres of flame erupted from the doorway and flew down the hall towards Kraig. The Koopa guard had all of two seconds to dive out of the way and hide in his shell before the weapons of mass destruction soared past him with inches to spare. A couple seconds later, the fires sizzled out as they hit the end of the hallway.  
  
"DAMN THEM ALL TO HELL!" The angry voice screamed. Kraig heard a soft humming sound, getting louder and more high-pitched as something charged up. He cringed in preparation for what would come next.  
  
"METEOR!!!"  
  
Though Kraig did not see it, a brilliant flash of light illuminated the opening into the Central Control Room for a split second, followed shortly by a brief but loud booming sound. A concussion of hot air blasted out of the room, blowing out the light-giving candles of the corridor outside.  
  
The area plunged into darkness. Kraig didn't dare look out to see what was going on, but he could feel himself being tossed about by the incredible force of the winds rushing around him. He shut his eyes tight and wished for it to be over. He couldn't see where he was going, didn't know what was happening. It was a nightmare--a nightmare that he couldn't wake up from.  
  
Two jolts rattled through him as he bounced to a stop. The noise of rushing winds subsided. All went still.  
  
Kraig slowly peeked his head out of his shell. Blackness greeted him, darker than the darkest night. He stood up and glanced around. There was nothing but black around him-he couldn't see a thing. The air was thick and smelled strongly of smoke. He gave a small cough and strained to see anything--anything at all. Nothing appeared to him. It was like being blind.  
  
He reached down to an emergency utility belt strapped around his waist. There was a small flashlight attached to it, in case the gas supply for the torches ever went out. He fumbled with the latch for a few seconds before he finally managed to get it unhooked and turned it on.  
  
The yellowish beam revealed what had once been the Control Room's doorway, now nothing more than bits and pieces of charred debris and broken stone. A massive hole in the wall bled smoke out into the hallway. Kraig frowned. What had just happened?  
  
Someone called out his name. Kraig turned and shined the flashlight behind him, showing a group of Koopa guards running toward him. He recognized them all--they patrolled the areas near this one and were friends of his. A couple of them waved to him, and he waved back.  
  
Kraig turned his flashlight back to the scene in front of him as his companions arrived, panting from their run. Kraig took another careful sniff of the air. Apart from the stench of smoke, the distinct scent of gas was also apparent.  
  
His friends must've noticed it too, because one of them spoke up. "I dare ya to light a match in here," one joked. "What happened? I heard this loud sound, like somebody'd tossed a cement truck off the top floor."  
  
"I'm not sure." Kraig replied slowly. "Mr. Kamek?" He called out, trying to peer through the smoke at the Control Room. "Mr. Kamek, are you all right?"  
  
A guard trained her flashlight on the hole, which was still pouring out smoke. "Whoa! Kamek was in there?!" She exclaimed.  
  
"Looks like a bomb went off, or something..." Another Koopa muttered.  
  
Kraig took another step forward, calling out into the darkness again. "Mr. Kamek? Hello? Dang smoke, I can't see a thing in there." Indeed, the smoke swallowed up their flashlights' beams like a dense fog, preventing any clear visibility of what lay inside.  
  
A cold wind began to pick up in the hallway, sweeping the smoke towards the group until it surrounded them. "Hey, what's this?" One guard exclaimed.  
  
The wind grew stronger; swirling the thick fumes around them, choking them, smothering them. Kraig wrapped an arm around himself to ward off the biting cold that was carried in the breeze, and shivered. He couldn't hardly see his own hand in front of his face, even when he shined his fashlight on it. His guard companions were lost within the dense fog. Luckily, he could still hear their voices. Then a thought occurred to him.  
  
How come there was a wind blowing INSIDE the fortress?  
  
At that moment the smoke seemed to part like the Red Sea before Kraig's eyes. He stepped forward again a tiny bit, raising his flashlight in a feeble attempt to reveal what lay in the dark. "M.....M-Mr. Kamek?"  
  
From deep within the darkness, two eyes ignited.  
  
Someone stepped out from the Central Control Room, and Kraig stumbled back in fear as he saw it. The beam from his flashlight was abruptly cut off at two feet in front of the creature; it's form radiated an aura of dark energy that no light could penetrate. Two glowing pupils that might have been framed by glasses glowed a bright red with rage.  
  
"WHAT." Kamek growled, wand held at the ready.  
  
Kraig struggled to form words--his throat seemed to have stopped working. "Um...is t-there some sort-t of prob-b-blem, s-s-sir??"  
  
For some reason, this question seemed to push Kamek's temper beyond its' limit. With a roar not unlike Bowser's, Kamek pointed his wand at Kraig and snarled out a spell. A flash of magical light, and the hapless guard burst into flames.  
  
That was all the incentive the other guards needed to drop their weapons and run. Screaming in pain, Kraig dropped his flashlight and fled down the hallway after his fellow Koopas. The flames cast odd shadows onto the stone walls as he retreated from sight, eventually vanishing around another bend in the stone hallway.  
  
Kamek stood in the same position for several minutes afterward, taking deep breaths and trying to calm down. Finally the aura of darkness around him abated, and his eyes returned to normal. With an almost casual flick of his wrist, he dissipated the gas and smoke while relighting the torches in the hallway.  
  
He sighed and put his wand away, pausing only to pick up the forgotten flashlight on the floor in front of him. 'Well, that's item # 451 on the list of major screw-ups today,' he thought wryly. 'Dang, I used up way too much MP. I've still got enough for maybe one or two more spells, but that's it.'  
  
Kamek took off his glasses and wearily rubbed his eyes. Things just weren't going well for him lately. How many times had he told Bowser in the past that he hated machines? He'd lost count of the number. Yet for some unfathomable reason, the Koopa king had decided to put him in charge of the castle's security systems not two days earlier.  
  
Kamek hated computers above all other machines--he'd much rather use magic to achieve his ends instead of relying on untrustworthy piles of metal to do the job for him. Yet for some reason, he was an exceptional programmer..and it was because of this that Bowser had stuck him with the job of overseeing the maintenance and security systems in the castle.  
  
The systems were all run from one source, which was the large supercomputer in the room behind him. It was incredibly powerful, but not even the best CPU in the world would be able to help him with the new problem he'd been presented with.  
  
Heaving a deep sigh that would break anyone's heart, Kamek slowly turned to trudge back into the torture room of disobedient circuitry.  
  
  
  
-------------------------------  
  
  
  
"Okay people, listen up!" The Shy Guy leader of Squadron Alpha barked, shifting the white mask on his face as he spoke. "We've gotten a report of some trouble in the West sector. Normally we'd get there through the main route, but something made a big hole in the ceiling over there and caused a collapse, so that way's blocked off."  
  
Alarm swept through the ranks of Shy Guys standing in front of the leader as whispers broke out among them. The leader held his arms up to quiet them down before continuing.  
  
"Now the only other route I can think of that'll get us there in time to give any sort of help, is the Old Coal."  
  
Murmurs of disagreement responded almost immediately to this. "The Old Coal?!" One Shy Guy burst out. "Nobody uses that route anymore! We're not even sure if it's still safe!"  
  
"Then we'll find out for sure, won't we?" the Leader glared. "Look, I don't want to do this any more than you do. But I have my orders. We're to get to the West sector using the quickest means possible, and that means going through Old Coal. So let's stop grumbling and get on with it! March!"  
  
The Murmurs continued, but the ranks of soldiers obeyed.  
  
  
  
----------------------------------  
  
  
  
After several minutes of struggling to breathe through the fumes coming from the princesses' sewage-soaked dresses, Kirby finally suggested that the two get cleaned up. The princesses were all for the idea, but neither of them knew where the restrooms were.  
  
Luckily, Kirby remembered seeing such a restroom when Kapi was guiding him and Mario through the castle. Not only that, but he also remembered the route to it.  
  
And so, after a quick trip to the quarters where Peach and Daisy had slept earlier.....  
  
  
  
"Where IS it?!" Daisy burst out at last.  
  
Both she and Peach were currently following Kirby, who was barely visible under the pile of clothing he was carrying. The Dreamlander had offered to carry the garments since both princesses' hands were filthy, but he'd underestimated the sheer amount of clothing they actually wore. As it was, he somehow managed to stagger forward underneath the weight of the pile without falling over.  
  
"Daisy, calm down." Peach soothed her cousin. "I'm sure it's around here somewhere."  
  
"You'd THINK they'd make them easy to find in this place!" The brown-haired princess fumed. "I can't stand the horrible smell from this dress any longer! GAH!"  
  
"Kirby, are you sure we're going the right way?" Peach worriedly asked.  
  
"See for yourself." Kirby grunted. "There it is!"  
  
Up ahead lay a wooden door that had a blacked-in silhouette of a koopa wearing a large ribbon and a dress placed on it. "See? I TOLD you I saw a restroom when Mario and I were walking around here!" Kirby grinned.  
  
"Finally!" Daisy sighed in relief, rushing to the door and pushing it open. "C'mon, Peach!"  
  
"Wait!" Kirby called after her. "Don't forget your spare clothes!" He glanced back and forth between Peach and the door. "Peach, could you-no, wait, your hands are still dirty, I forgot. Umm...I know, I'll just go put them in the restroom for you two. Okay?"  
  
The Pink Wonder began running inside the room without waiting for an answer. "No, wait!" Peach cried out. "Don't go in there!!"  
  
Too late, Kirby was already in the room. "Oh, no." Peach sighed. Turning away and shutting her eyes tight, she murmured, "This'll be bad..."  
  
From within the room, the muffled voice of Kirby could be heard. "Hey, Daisy! You forgot about your spare clothes, so......I........" the sound trailed off suddenly.  
  
  
  
There was a brief pause.  
  
  
  
"EEEEEEEEEK!!!"  
  
The door slammed open and Kirby, minus the massive pile of garments and with the area around his left eye colored a deep purple, flew out of it. He sailed down the hallway several feet before finally being re-introduced to the floor. Peach rushed over to where the Pink Wonder had landed with a grim, knowing look on her face. "Kirby! Are you all right??"  
  
"OooOoOOoooh..." Came the moaned reply. "Where'd that semi truck come from...?"  
  
Peach rolled her eyes. "I warned you!" She reproached. "Daisy was already getting undressed, wasn't she?"  
  
Kirby sat up with a pained grunt. "Yeah...dang, she hits hard..."  
  
Peach smiled slightly. "Hey, you're lucky she only hit you in the eye. She's done a lot worse to others, you know."  
  
"No kidding." Kirby got back to his feet and gingerly felt around the bruised area. "Well, it doesn't seem too bad. Thanks, by the way."  
  
"Welcome. I'm gonna go get clean now. Wait for us, okay?"  
  
"Sure. I'll be right here."  
  
  
  
----------------------------------------------  
  
  
  
Bowser's eyes snapped open, and he sat up with a gasp. The garbage piles of the trash compactor welcomed him with their strong smells; he nearly gagged.  
  
Finally the spasms abated. Bowser sighed. What had he been dreaming about...? He couldn't remember. It had been a pleasant dream, though. Something to do with a tuxedo and a top hat...  
  
Bowser glanced around himself. Mega Man was firing repeatedly at one of the walls, while Mario and Kapi were trying to clear away some of the obstructing junk around them to give the robot a clear shot. The King of the Koopas staggered to his feet, nursing his incredibly sore head. Now he remembered......that pink marshmallow had rammed him through the ceiling, and then used gravity to slam him into the floor. The impact must've thrown them into the basement......ouch, what a headache he had.  
  
The floor shook every time Bowser took a step, and thus he quickly got the attention of everyone else in the room as he stumbled around dizzily. Kapi screamed so loudly upon seeing him awake that the Koopa King was surprised he didn't go deaf. He was surprised further when Kapi tackled him in the stomach with enough force to tip him over onto his back again.  
  
"King Bowser! You're awake! Oh, thank the Maker!" She sobbed. "I was so worried! What if you'd gone into a coma? Oh, I'm so happy you're awake!"  
  
Bowser flailed around wildly, trying to regain his balance. "Ack! Get off me!" He pleaded with the comparatively miniature Koopa.  
  
Kapi's eyes widened. "Oh, I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed while leaping off Bowser and moving back a few steps, her face red.  
  
"Kapi, I need your help over here!" Mario hollered across the room.  
  
"Right, sorry, I'm coming!" Kapi called back as she sprinted in-between the trash piles to where she'd left Mario.  
  
Bowser struggled to his feet again, hanging onto a nearby trash pile for balance. For some reason, he couldn't focus his eyes properly. It was because of this that he didn't quite see the strange blue portal opening up in front of Mega Man...  
  
----------------------------------  
  
Sonic finally stopped running, but only after he'd taken a wrong turn and crashed into a dead end. He sat up and cradled his spiny head, which now sported a large bruise on its surface. Oy, that'd hurt.  
  
He looked around himself, recognizing nothing of his surroundings. Somehow, he wasn't surprised. He decided to try walking and see where he ended up. That way, he'd be able to see what was in front of him before he collided with it-and if there were more dead ends around here, that would definitely be important.  
  
Testing his legs to make sure nothing was broken, he stood up and began to meander through the identical stone halls. This hallway apparently hadn't been used in a long time; the floor had a thick layer of dust on it that swirled up slightly as he walked.  
  
Sonic approached a bend in the corridor and turned it without a thought. Two seconds later he turned it again, running back the way he'd come with a panicked look on his face. He was promptly followed by a large group of around 20 or so guards.  
  
"Ack! Hey, I'm sorry already! I didn't mean to come here!" Sonic tried to explain while dodging thrown spears and arrows. "I'm lost, that's all! Don't hurt me!"  
  
Either the guards didn't hear him or they were simply ignoring him. Either way, they continued their chase. "Fine, if that's the way you want it!" Sonic yelled at them before using the speed he was so well-known for. He wound up his legs into a red blur shaped like a figure 8, and took off. The guards were forced to slow down as his acceleration threw the floor's layer of dust up into the air in a thick cloud. By the time the cloud had dissipated enough for the guards to see, the hedgehog was gone.  
  
An interesting session of hacking and coughing followed as the guards tried to clear their lungs of the foul dust particles. One guard turned to the leader after getting his breath back and panted, "I told you the Old Coal wasn't safe."  
  
For the first time, the leader was in full agreement. Although nobody could see his face behind the mask he always wore, his face was a pale white color, and his mouth was pulled into a taut line. "Let's get the hell out of here!" He whispered fearfully.  
  
----------------------------------  
  
  
  
Amazingly, the Central Control room was still intact after Kamek's little show of anger. A massive conglomeration of mechanical parts that formed the main CPU of the room's supercomputer took up nearly half of the room. It sat behind a table with several monitors and keyboards on top of it, each of which was hooked up to the CPU via wire. The only things that seemed out of place were the absence of one of the computer monitors, and the smoking pieces of metal littered throughout the room.  
  
Eyeing the computer equipment with something close to deep loathing, Kamek walked slowly and deliberately up to one keyboard. His fingers began hammering at the board's surface, never missing a key or misspelling a word. His eyes swept over the monitor above it, their intense gaze constantly searching.  
  
Nothing happened. Frustrated, Kamek slammed his fists down on the table that the unresponsive computer sat upon. He glared daggers at the blank screen, which was currently showing only a blinking cursor in the upper- left hand corner. Something had locked him out of the system, and for some reason he couldn't restore his connection.  
  
Struggling to get a grip on his runaway anger, he attempted another try. "Access main program," he typed.  
  
ACCESS DENIED, the computer flashed back at him.  
  
The dark aura started to return around Kamek. He suddenly felt a wild urge to pick up and throw something. "Access main security grid," he typed instead.  
  
ACCESS DENIED.  
  
The aura was quite visible by now. It was a good thing Kamek's hands were busy typing another command, otherwise havoc may have ensued. "Access main program grid," He typed again, fully expecting that same dang message in return.  
  
His expectations were fulfilled, but not in the way he'd expected: ACCESS DENIED...YOU DIDN'T SAY THE MAGIC WORD!  
  
The aura vanished in bewilderment. Kamek blinked once. Twice. He removed his glasses and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, then replaced the spectacles. The message remained the same.  
  
YOU DIDN'T SAY THE MAGIC WORD.  
  
Kamek's expression became irritated again. "What the heck is THAT supposed to mean?!" He yelled angrily at the monitor. The boxlike machine sat silent and unresponsive, serving no other purpose but to aggravate Kamek further. Anyone who would have dared to enter the room at that moment would have sworn they saw steam rising from underneath the Magikoopa's hat.  
  
Kamek glared at the monitor, mentally cursing it in every language he knew. His eyes focused on the blinking cursor.  
  
A moment later, Kamek closed his eyes and opened them again. Had he just seen what he thought he had?  
  
The cursor was slowly traveling across the screen, leaving a series of words in its wake. Kamek glanced down at the keyboard. He hadn't typed anything.  
  
Suddenly curious, he looked back up at the monitor and mouthed out the one word it spelled:  
  
HELLO.  
  
Kamek looked around the room suspiciously, wondering if somebody was lying in wait for him. He cautiously typed out an answer to the greeting, whispering the words as he typed them.  
  
"What's going on?"  
  
The words erased themselves from the screen and were replaced by a reply.  
  
YOU HAVE ALLOWED ME THE ABILITY TO ENTER YOUR EXPANSIVE DATABASE SYSTEM. FOR THAT, I THANK YOU.  
  
Realization wound up one massive fist and smacked Kamek upside the head. He typed furiously.  
  
"Why did you lock me out of the system?!"  
  
Again the words cleared themselves from the screen, and the cursor brought more letters into existence. I APOLOGIZE, BUT I REQUIRED THE MEMORY YOU WERE USING WITH YOUR CONNECTION TO FULLY INTEGRATE MYSELF INTO THE SYSTEM.  
  
Fear made itself known to Kamek at that moment. Something-no, someone-had taken over the computer system, and through it could control every mechanical device in the entire castle. If it wanted to, it could use the security lasers built into this room's ceiling to kill him right here.  
  
I WILL RESTORE YOUR CONNECTION AS SOON AS I CAN, The cursor typed. UNTIL THEN, I BID YOU ADIEU.  
  
The green cursor began to fade out of sight. "Wait!" Kamek hastily typed.  
  
The green cursor reappeared. Kamek's hands shook as he slowly typed one last question:  
  
"Who are you?"  
  
The reply was slow in coming, and Kamek almost wondered if the mysterious entity had stopped listening. But finally, the screen cleared itself. Five letters slowly appeared and remained on the monitor a couple moments before the entire computer shut down on its own.  
  
Kamek sat frozen to his seat, muttering the name in confusion.  
  
"'Sigma'?"  
  
-------------------------------  
  
  
  
"Don't forget, you've gotta melt through the wall before it moves completely inward!" Mario had reiterated his plan to him. "If you don't, well..."  
  
"I get the picture!" He'd replied irritably. "Just let me take care of it while you and Kapi clear a path for us to use!"  
  
'Right. Easy plan, huh?' Mega Man thought as he continued his rapid-fire barrage of plasma. 'Not quite as easy as you'd think...'  
  
He heard Kapi's scream and turned his head in time to see her tackle Bowser. Mega Man smiled slightly, then focused his attention back on the task at hand. Or Buster, as it were. Kapi acted really weird around Bowser, so he just wrote off her reaction as another intricacy of the female mind.  
  
So intent was Mega Man on his target, that he didn't even notice the glowing blue hole opening up near him, nor did he see it deposit an object almost at his feet...  
  
----------------------------------  
  
  
  
Sonic kept absolutely still, even going so far as to hold his breath so his stomach would stop moving. On the other side of the door he was leaning on, several guards were glancing around themselves and wondering where he'd gone.  
  
"He must've taken the other way back at that intersection." One guard spoke up at last. "C'mon! If we hurry, we can still catch him!"  
  
Rapidly retreating footsteps echoed through the hallway. Sonic let out a huge sigh of relief and wiped a thin film of sweat off his forehead. He'd lost them.  
  
Standing up straight, he looked around the room he was in for the first time. His eyes widened. "Whoa..." He uttered.  
  
The first thing he noticed was the size of the room. Easily as large as a football stadium, the place seemed to stretch for miles off into the distance. The ceiling was too high up to be believable. In short, it was frackin' huge.  
  
The next thing Sonic noticed was the massive power generator standing before him, literally humming and crackling with the current running through it. Shaped like a cylinder that ballooned out at the ends, it took up one entire wall of the room he now stood in. A rat's nest of wires ran into the machinery connected to its top and bottom, traveling up into the ceiling and into the walls. All in all, it was a stunning sight.  
  
Now Sonic didn't know this, but the generator itself did not actually produce the electricity for the castle. In fact, it merely converted it. A series of lightning rods that were set up on the castle's roof fueled it by sending the raw electrical power they attracted through a series of cables to the massive energy fluctuators set up across the room. These machines regulated how much electricity was sent to the generator for it to convert into usable working energy.  
  
Sonic shuffled over to the machine, never taking his eyes off the immense glowing cylinder in its middle. The generator seemed almost to flow with other colors when he looked at it closely-  
  
His foot found a cable lying on the floor. This cable connected the fluctuators to the generator, and got yanked forward by his foot as he tripped over it, causing it to violently disconnect from the generator in a shower of sparks. With a click, the generator shut off, its power severed. Across the room, the fluctuator sensed it was no longer connected to the generator and shut itself down as a safety measure.  
  
Throughout the castle, a blackout ensued.  
  
------------------------  
  
  
  
Breathe. In. Out.  
  
Darkness come. Darkness good. Need darkness.  
  
But light not all gone.  
  
Breathe. In. Out.  
  
Will strike now, and restore darkness.  
  
Time to feed.  
  
  
  
------------------------  
  
  
  
Everyone suddenly found themselves in the dark. Literally. The torches all extinguished themselves at the same time, since the energy that pumped them flammable gas was no longer there. In the basement, the trash compactor stopped moving with a slowly dying whine.  
  
Not a sound disturbed the silence that followed---for a couple seconds, at least.  
  
"What the heck just happened?" Mario blurted out.  
  
A click emitted from somewhere in the darkness. Suddenly Mario was looking at a beam of light coming from Mega Man's eyes, and aimed at the wall.  
  
Mega Man turned his head towards Mario. "The power went off." The robot observed. "Everyone okay?" He turned to look around the room, and the eyebeams did so as well.  
  
"Yeah, we're fine." Kapi reported. "Why'd the power stop, though?"  
  
This was a question that none of them could answer. Mega Man turned back to the wall and began firing again. "I'm not sure. But we might as well finish what we started, since there isn't any other way out."  
  
"True." Mario admitted. "Okay Kapi, let's get to work!"  
  
"Hey, wait a second!" Bowser frowned. "Why're you guys going to all that trouble? I can bust through the walls, no problem!"  
  
And with that, the Koopa King walked up to the wall Mega Man had been firing at and slashed a gaping hole in it with his sharp claws.  
  
Kapi's jaw dropped, while Mario smacked himself in the forehead. Mega Man simply smiled. "I thought my scans of the wall were wrong because they kept saying it wasn't very thick. But anything that thin would've melted by now!"  
  
"You came here from a portal-world." Bowser chuckled at the robot. "Try not to think too much about it. Come on; let's get out of here."  
  
----------------------------------  
  
Sonic ran blindly through the darkness, smashing into random obstacles in his path. He didn't know where he was going or why, all he knew was that he had to get out of there!  
  
Far behind him, the clanking footsteps of guards echoed off the walls. Numerous beams of light shined out at him from the darkness, trying to find his elusive form. He shied away from them, retreating even further into the darkness.  
  
'Stupid stupid stupid!' He berated himself mentally. Why hadn't he high- tailed it out of there when the power went out? Of COURSE the guards would check that room first---that was where the power came from, after all! Why hadn't he left when he had the chance, instead of sitting there frozen to the floor in surprise?  
  
It seemed that he might lose them. It seemed he might escape.  
  
Then he tripped.  
  
"Waaaaagh!" Sonic yelled as he tumbled head-over-heels into a wall. Wham. Colored stars and lights flashed before his vision. He reeled backwards, stumbling dizzily around the area while he tried to make the multiple images he was seeing go away. Meanwhile, the guards behind him arrived on the scene.  
  
Sonic didn't notice them, since he was hunched down on the floor and cradling his head in both hands. A major headache was starting to form in his brain.  
  
"Freeze!" One guard, the leader of the unit, yelled while pointing his spear at Sonic. "Don't move!"  
  
"I couldn't if I wanted to," Sonic growled. "Get that light outta my face!"  
  
"Hey, check this out!" Someone from off to the side called out. The light receded, and Sonic began the arduous process of blinking the spots out of his eyes.  
  
"What is it, Koi?" The leader asked while walking over to the Koopa that had made the exclamation.  
  
Koi pointed down at a spot on the floor that he was shining his light at. "Look at what that guy tripped over!"  
  
Curious, the leader bent down to take a closer look. The object seemed to be made of metal, judging from the way it reflected light. It was shaped similarly to the intruder they'd just been chasing, with blue spikes poking out of the back of its head.  
  
Suddenly the image conjured up a very vivid memory in the Koopa's mind...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Hey, Karl! Something just came through a portal!"  
  
"Really?" Karl asked while glancing at the long rut in the dirt that led to where his friend Koi was bending over an object on the ground. "Looks like it had a rough landing."  
  
"No kidding. It doesn't seem to be working, either."  
  
Karl walked over and glanced at the mysterious object. It was a very sophisticated, blue chrome robot that was far too complex for him to understand. It didn't move.  
  
"I doubt we'll be able to use it for anything except scrap. Let's take it to the junkpile." Karl announced. "Here, I'll grab these feet-things and you grab those other things at the top." He pointed at a pair of steel hands that lay limp at the robot's sides.  
  
"Alright, then." Koi agreed. They nodded at each other, heaved the heavy machinery up with a grunt, and carted it over to a nearby canyon that contained the aforementioned junkpile.  
  
"On the count of three, we'll toss it in." Karl explained. "Okay?"  
  
"Okay." Koi shrugged.  
  
"One!" They began to swing the robot from side to side.  
  
"Two!" They swung harder.  
  
"Three!"  
  
The machine went sailing into the air in a perfect arc, before hitting the chasm's bottom and impaling itself on top of several sharp, pointy rocks.  
  
Both Karl and Koi waited to see if the robot would move. When it didn't, they gave each other a high-five and walked away.  
  
  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
  
  
A sense of nightmare hit Karl as he realized he was looking at the same robot, except it was now repaired and functional.  
  
"Dang flashlight." The guard next to Karl muttered while banging a hand against the side of his torch. "The batteries are dying again." He hit the flashlight again, and the light coming from it went out. "Aw, crud!" He yelled.  
  
The image of the repaired robot vanished as the light extinguished itself, but it still stood out vividly in Karl's mind. Slowly, ever so slowly, he pointed his own flashlight at the robot.  
  
-----------------------------------  
  
  
  
Main systems online.  
  
Loading backup systems...please wait.  
  
..........  
  
Backup systems online.  
  
Activating personality software.  
  
...........  
  
.....what happened?  
  
Where am I?  
  
What's going on?  
  
WARNING! Unidentified organisms located on radar!  
  
What the...?  
  
Actvating secondary systems.....  
  
Video feed online.  
  
I blinked; there we go, now I can see again. In the corner of my eye, several glaring red dots stood out on my radar. I turned my head to look at a couple of them who were leaning over me.  
  
  
  
------------------------------------  
  
  
  
Two black voids on the robot's face lit up with glowing pupils, lighting up the area with an eerie red tint. They flickered for a moment, then focused on Karl.  
  
"Uh...Koi?" The Koopa asked the guard next to him nervously while starting to edge away, his hand holding the flashlight beginning to shake slightly.  
  
------------------------------------  
  
Hmm, they were Koopas. They looked familiar, too.  
  
Wait a second...  
  
Video logs accessed  
  
Playing video file 44.2232.6798.  
  
Analyzing image in frame 107865...  
  
Comparing to current video feed...  
  
98% chance of identical match  
  
....  
  
...well, this is an interesting development. So these were the @%#$s that threw me off that cliff, eh?  
  
...'Oh, sweet irony. Thine humor bring great mirth.'  
  
I'm going to enjoy this.  
  
  
  
------------------------------------  
  
  
  
"Koi?" Karl repeated urgently, trying to get his friend's attention. Somehow, he knew that the blue robot recognized him...  
  
Koi was busy hitting his flashlight, trying to get it working again. "Yeah Karl?" He replied absently without looking up.  
  
"Uh...did this thing have glowing eyes when you found it?"  
  
Koi looked up, saw the activated robot, and visibly went a shade paler than before. "No..."  
  
Karl's hand shook so heavily that he dropped the flashlight a split-second later, redirecting its illumination elsewhere while casting them into darkness.  
  
The sound of coming death thundered in the pause that followed, and Karl could have sworn he heard a distant voice laughing at him.  
  
The eyes attacked.  
  
  
  
-------------------------------------  
  
  
  
Sonic's ears pricked up as the sounds of a nearby struggle reached them. A clatter as something plastic fell onto the floor, then a couple muted thumps as something heavier fell a few seconds later. He lifted his head to see what was happening.....  
  
.....A moment later, he wished he hadn't.  
  
Metal Sonic stood mere feet away from him, red eyes burning like the fires of Hell. An activated flashlight that lay nearby cast a dim light onto the robot's body, revealing a dark fluid (Sonic hoped it was just oil) that dripped slowly from his metallic claws. The robot shifted his position to reveal what was behind him, and Sonic was hit with a sudden wave of nausea. Against the far wall lay the disfigured corpses of the guards, throats slashed and gushing blood. They hadn't even had time to scream.  
  
"Hello, Ssssssonic." The machination hissed, beginning to stalk slowly forward. "What a surprise; I didn't expect to find you here."  
  
"H-how...?" Sonic choked, quickly standing up and backpedaling away. "How'd you get here?!" He demanded at last.  
  
"I have been in this Zone far longer than you realize, rodent. But as for how I came to be in this particular building..." The robot paused his advance for a moment, hesitating. "I was.delivered by a friend, if you must know."  
  
"What do you mean? What 'friend'?"  
  
Metal didn't answer, but instead continued closing the distance between them. The robot's red eyes flared, and reflexes that had been honed from years of sabotage missions told Sonic to duck.  
  
One of Mecha's clawed hands swept through the air above Sonic's head, their razor-sharp fingers reaching for his throat. Heart pounding with adrenaline, Sonic dove to the side and snatched up the activated flashlight on the floor before rolling to his feet, ready to fight.  
  
Mecha gazed levelly at his opponent for a few seconds before thrusting forward in a football tackle, using his rocket engine to propel himself through the air without touching the ground. Sonic's back slammed into the wall, and all the air in his lungs evacuated with a whoosh. Breathless, he collapsed to his side and gasped for oxygen like a beached fish.  
  
Even though Mecha's metal face was incapable of complex movements, Sonic could practically feel him sneering in triumph. A metal foot collided with his side as Mecha gave him a couple good kicks. Grunting in pain, Sonic reached out and grabbed the foot with his free hand as it flew towards him for the third time, then pulled hard. Mecha tumbled over onto his back, allowing Sonic time to get back to his feet and put some room between them.  
  
A laser bolt flashed past Sonic's head and collided with the ceiling in a shower of dust and rocks. Sonic mentally cursed, realizing that Mecha was using his built-in lasers to fire at him while the robot got up. Another laser swept past, then another that merited ducking.  
  
It's time to end this, Sonic thought with a growl. He spun around to face Mecha, and went into a sudden spindash. Mecha avoided the attack with a simple sideways boost of his rocket engine, then reached out and grabbed one of Sonic's legs as he passed.  
  
Surprise hit Sonic in the face, along with the floor. He impacted it with a strangled grunt, then looked back to see what had tripped him. "Hey, leggo!" He yelled while kicking futilely with his captured limb. Mecha dodged, then grabbed Sonic's other foot with his free hand. He swung Sonic up by his legs and around in a circle, then released when the blue hedgehog was aimed at the wall.  
  
Sonic's head exploded in a kaleidoscope of colors and sounds. He yelled in pain, clutching at his face with both hands as he tried to regain his bearings. His senses suddenly screamed for him to move, and he dove forward in an evasive rolling maneuver as a red-painted, steel shoe slammed into the spot where his head had been.  
  
Realizing he'd missed, Mecha retracted his foot without noticing the deep imprint it had left in the wall. Sonic's momentum carried him forward in- between Mecha's legs, and he stood back up behind the robot just in time to see a fist flying at his face.  
  
Two seconds and twenty feet later, Sonic skidded to a halt on the floor of the hallway. He sat up dizzily, shaking the random spots out of his vision. Glancing upward , he spotted a twin set of glowing eyes flying at him via rocket engine. He glanced at his right hand, which had been holding the flashlight this whole time. He looked at Mecha again. By now, the robot was almost on top of him. Sonic gritted his teeth in determination.  
  
The flashlight sailed through the air with the greatest of ease, nailing Mecha directly in the forehead. Direct hit.  
  
  
  
----------------------------------  
  
  
  
ERROR! Severe damage to main video feed! Activating backup systems to compensate...  
  
Auxillary video feed offline. Shutdown of main video commencing. Transferring power to auto-repair...  
  
My vision flickered and dissolved into static. Snarling in the extreme rage I felt at that moment, I glanced at my radar instead. The rodent had gotten up and was circling around me to attack from behind, thinking I was blind. Well, he'll get an unpleasant surprise...  
  
  
  
--------------------------  
  
  
  
Sonic stood up, noticing that the red pupils of Mecha's eyes had gone out- only the orange flame from the robot's engine gave light to the area now. Mecha grunted as his vision was lost, and lashed out with his left arm in a blind rage while holding his right arm up to shield his face from further attack. Sonic nimbly hopped out of the way of the counterattack and circled around to strike again.  
  
A whoosh of air, and Mecha's rocket engine ignited in Sonic's face. Sonic screamed before he could stop himself and fell backwards, holding his smoking hands up over his head.  
  
Reality went haywire at that moment.  
  
All motion abruptly ceased; Sonic was locked in mid-fall, Mecha in turning his head to see the damage he'd caused. The landscape began to shift and ripple like water, bending and stretching at the seams. The disturbance grew greater, beginning to affect the statuelike forms of Sonic and Mecha, as well.  
  
At the center of it all, a hole opened. A blurry, reddish shape leapt through before it closed a second later, and all returned to normal.  
  
Time restarted, and Sonic fell onto his back. A new form now stood protectively in front of him, shielding him from further attack. Mecha blinked in stunned amazement when he turned around and spotted the newcomer. "It can't be--!"  
  
The stranger pointed one massive, spiked hand at the robot. "Leave. Now." It commanded in a familiar male voice. A stream of green energy flew out from the hand and formed a greenish portal around the robot, cutting off Mecha's yell of outrage as it closed and left nothing behind.  
  
Sonic thought he recognized the newcomer's voice from somewhere, and made an attempt to prove his theory. "Knux...?" He asked weakly, before passing out where he lay.  
  
The stranger glanced down at Sonic, and worry creased its brow. "He's hurt worse than I thought." He murmured to himself as he kneeled down to check Sonic's wounds.  
  
A sudden tremor shook the fortress, causing dirt and loose stones to fall down from the ceiling. The stranger cursed. "I'm too late. We've gotta get out of here....." A shimmering green portal, similar to the one that had taken Mecha, enveloped them both and disappeared, leaving an empty and battle-marred hallway behind.  
  
  
  
----------------------------------  
  
  
  
RUUUUMMMBBBLLLE.....  
  
"Whoa, what the HECK was that?!" Kamek yelped as the shaking threw him onto the floor. No reply came from the dead computer in front of him, which had shut off when the power died.  
  
Kamek began to get back to his feet when another, stronger shockwave ripped through the building and threw him back down. "OWCH! Dang, that hurts!" He grumbled.  
  
A small aftershock vibrated the floor slightly. "What's going on?!" The MagiKoopa demanded, looking around the room from his position on the floor. "The only thing that'd cause an earthquake around here would be....." Realization came to Kamek and produced the only logical explanation for the shaking. ".....Oh, crap." Kamek reached into his robes and brought out his wand, waving it around with much muttering. A rush of sparkles, and he teleported out of the room.  
  
  
  
----------------------------------  
  
  
  
RUUUUMMMBBBLLLE.....  
  
"Yikes!" Mario yelled in surprise as the tremor sent him reeling into a garbage pile. "What the heck?! Bowser, what's going on?!?"  
  
But the Koopa King seemed just as surprised at this turn of events as Mario was. "Heck if I know!" He growled, leaning on the wall he'd just torn a hole through. "KAMEK, GET IN HERE!"  
  
Amazingly (although Mario privately thought it was a coincidence), Kamek appeared above their heads on his new broomstick at that moment. "Everyone!" He exclaimed in panic. "We've got to get out of here, NOW! I'm gonna teleport us, so hold on!"  
  
"Hey, what's going on?" Kirby demanded while poking his head down through the hole in the ceiling. "What happened while we were gone? Mario?"  
  
"Kamek, hold it!" Mario spoke up over the Magikoopa's chanting. "The princesses are on the second floor! Take them too, okay?"  
  
"WHAT?! They've been here this whole time?!?" Bowser bellowed a split second before vanishing in a rush of shining sparkles.  
  
"What the--? Hey, what happened to him?" Mega Man exclaimed before he, too, vanished.  
  
One at a time, every person in the room was teleported out of the castle and to the foot of the hill which it stood upon. Last to arrive were the princesses and Bowser, then Kamek himself. The MajiKoopa dropped to one knee, panting from the exertion of using the spell.  
  
"Hey, what was THAT all about, huh?!" Kapi screeched. She marched right up to Kamek and grabbed him around the neck in both hands, shaking him violently. "Just-what-the-heck-are-you-doing?!" She yelled, punctuating each word with a shake. "You-could-have-gotten-us-killed-you-crazy-Koopa-"  
  
A clawed hand on her shoulder stopped her tirade. She glanced up into the monstrous face of Bowser, and her eyes went wide. "Put him down, Kapi. I think I know why he got us out of there, and if I'm right, he saved our lives." The Koopa King rumbled.  
  
Kapi released Kamek at once, backing quickly away with a meek expression and an embarassed blush. Bowser nodded approvingly at her and walked up to Kamek, himself. "Kamek, you DID remember to teleport my children out first, right?" He asked quickly, a worried undertone apparent in his voice.  
  
Kamek hung his head, and Bowser's heart sank down clear to his clawed toes with the reply. "I'm sorry.....Lord Bowser.....but I only had.....enough MP for.....one mass teleport....." Kamek panted.  
  
Bowser suddenly stood up, eyes wide with panic as he turned to look at the castle. "NO! KIDS!" He yelled desperately, starting to run up the hill towards the castle. "NOOOO!"  
  
"King Bowser! Wait!" Kapi squeaked in fear, running after the King.  
  
"It's too.....late....." Kamek sighed. "Look....." He pointed at the castle, and everyone turned to see what was happening.  
  
Mouths became unhinged. Eyes bulged. Peach clapped a hand to her mouth to stifle a scream.  
  
A massive, swirling, purple portal had appeared around the castle, and was slowly shrinking with the building inside of it. In moments, the castle had completely vanished.  
  
"No--!" Bowser cried as he reached the top of the hill, now bare and empty. "No--! Kids! My children! Noo--!" He sank to his knees, weeping uncontrollably. "No.....not them...take me, instead...please...not them..." He sobbed.  
  
The silence at the foot of the hill was deafening. A slight breeze stirred among the rocks littered at their feet as everyone shared mutual looks of shock with each other. Finally, Mario quietly spoke.  
  
"Kamek....I think it's about time you told us what's going on."  
  
"I agree." Mega Man chimed in.  
  
Kamek sighed again. "It's quite a story, if you have the patience to listen to it. Are you sure you want to hear it?"  
  
"Yes." Kirby answered grimly.  
  
"Very well, then....."  
  
  
  
NEXT CHAPTER: The answers to all your questions are revealed. Why are the portals popping up? Where did they come from? What is their purpose? What happened to Castle Koopa? Did Link and Luigi make it out of there before it vanished? And where in the blazes is Pikachu?  
  
Find out all this, and more, in.....  
  
(dramatic chord)  
  
....Crossover Saga, Chapter 12: Deadline. Coming soon to a website near you!  
  
(orchestral fanfare)  
  
  
  
.....man, that was SO cheesy.....  
  
  
  
  
  
Author's Notes of DOOM! Mwahahahahaha!!  
  
Protoman: Greetings, readers! This chapter has got a very special Author's Note after it, 'cause today we've got something special planned for you! Don't ask me what it is, though. I have no clue. Hopefully, Stoney will fill us in on the details when he gets here.  
  
(Stoney walks onscreen dragging a colossal, enormous, gargantuan, gigantic, humongous, massive, immense-)  
  
Stoney: Get on with it!!  
  
(--burlap bag behind him.)  
  
Protoman: [raises eyebrow] What's in there? A body?  
  
Stoney: Yes. [tips bag over, and THOUSANDS of letters spill out] It's a body that looks suspiciously like a large pile of letters.  
  
Protoman: [gaping] What the HECK?  
  
Stoney: You've got mail! Or more specifically, I've got mail!  
  
(Knuckles walks onscreen)  
  
Knuckles: [notices the letters] Holy--! Are all those for YOU?!  
  
Stoney: Yep! C'mon, let's read 'em!  
  
(Protoman's arm starts emitting a beeping noise. He looks at it and presses a button, making the sound stop.)  
  
Protoman: No can do, buddyroe. I just got a message from Dr. Light- apparently Mega Man needs me to save his bacon again. [sighs] A brother's job is never done! Oh well, seeya!  
  
(Protoman warps out)  
  
Stoney: What about you, Knuckles?  
  
Knuckles: Sorry, but I've gotta get back to the Master Emerald. Maybe some other time, 'kay?  
  
(Knuckles walks off-screen)  
  
Stoney: Hmph! Fine, I'll just read them myself! [picks up a letter and reads the return address] Hmm. A letter from Yoshiman! All right! [rips open the letter and accidentally rips up the contents in the process]  
  
Stoney: Oops...  
  
(five minutes and lots of scotch tape later...)  
  
Stoney: There we go, good as new!  
  
(Metal Sonic enters)  
  
Stoney: Ah, Mecha! Just in time! Would you like to help me read the mail?  
  
Mecha: [shrugs] Very well. [sits down and opens one letter]  
  
Stoney: Ok, thanks! [starts to read his letter out loud] Yoshiman says:  
  
"How terribly exciting. As always, it's been a real pantload---  
  
Stoney: Uh, what's a 'pantload'? Please tell me it's not what I think it is, because if it is then that remark would be an insult. Hang on, the letter continues:  
  
  
  
---And I'm going to warn you beforehand. . . if you include FFVII characters without including FFIV or FFVI characters, I'm going to hurt you. With this wet sponge."  
  
Stoney: [gasps] Oh NO! Not the wet sponge! Anything but THAT! [bursts out laughing]  
  
Metal Sonic: [blinks] ...Error, does not compute. What is a 'FFIV'?  
  
Stoney: Ah, never mind. What about your letter?  
  
Metal Sonic: I have yet to read it.  
  
Stoney: Well, go ahead! I'm not stopping you!  
  
Metal Sonic: Fine. [reads, gasps in horror] Oh NO!  
  
Stoney: What's wrong? What's it say?  
  
Metal Sonic: [tries to stuff letter into a hidden compartment on his arm] Nothing, forget it.  
  
Stoney: [trying to get at the compartment] Hey, c'mon, let me see!  
  
Metal Sonic: No! Stop it!  
  
Stoney: Brackets, Parentheses, I need your help here!  
  
(the letter magically appears in Stoney's paw)  
  
Metal Sonic: What the--?! [checks compartment to find it's empty] Dang it!!  
  
Stoney: Thanks, you guys!  
  
(No problem.) [Ditto.]  
  
Stoney: [reads address] Ah, it's from Angel-Weasel Woman! Groovy! She says:  
  
"*happy squeal* Mecha! ^O^ *huggles bot who has this "For-the-Love-of-God- Help-Me" look* He's here! I hope he gets a good part."  
  
Stoney: [starts to laugh]  
  
Metal Sonic: [muttering] I hate getting hugs...  
  
Stoney: Aw, I think it's nice! You've got fans, isn't that awesome?  
  
Metal: You'd think it would be, wouldn't you?  
  
Stoney: ........what's THAT supposed to mean?  
  
Group of Rabid Mecha Fans: [screaming] OH MY GOD, LOOK! IT'S MECHIE!!  
  
Stoney: [blinks, raises one eyebrow] "Mechie"?  
  
Metal Sonic: Ack! They've found me! [starts to run away from the fans] SOMEBODY HELP MEEEE!  
  
Group of Rabid Mecha Fans: [start to chase Mecha, still screaming] COME HERE SO WE CAN HUG YOU, YOU BIG CUTIE!!!  
  
Mecha: NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!  
  
(Rabid Mecha Fans chase Metal Sonic off-screen)  
  
Stoney: ...... [bursts out laughing]  
  
(Mecha flies back onscreen and hits Stoney upside the head)  
  
Stoney: OW!  
  
Metal Sonic: Stop laughing! This isn't funny!  
  
Group of Rabid Mecha Fans: THERE HE IS!!  
  
Metal Sonic: AHHHH!!  
  
(Mecha gets chased off-screen again)  
  
Stoney: ......geez, that hurt. Oh well, who's next? [picks up a sheet of paper that isn't in an envelope] Ooh! It's from Billy-Bob Burmstrang, a.k.a. DragonBoy! All right! He says:  
  
"I guess Kirby likes being called powderpuff about as much as Cole, huh? 0_0"  
  
Stoney: [nods] Yep, that's true. I was hoping you'd notice that! For all the readers who are unfamiliar with who Cole is, he's a human-turned- Dreamlander from Billy's crossover fanfic. In the story, Cole got called the same thing Kirby did, with, um......unfortunate.....results. So remember, people: never, EVER call any member of the Dreamlander species a "Powderpuff"! It'll do ya good!  
  
Kirby: (from offscreen) WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME?!  
  
Stoney: [sweatdrops] Uh, nothing! [laughs nervously] Um...next! [tosses letter over his shoulder, picks up a new one]  
  
Stoney: Did I just pick up a new shoulder??  
  
(No, you picked up a new LETTER.)  
  
Stoney: Oh, okay! [opens it and reads] This letter was written by a bloke called Echoes of the Mind. He or she says:  
  
"Not too shabby, but you mocked the metal. I'll let it slide this time, but watch out for the flying puppies."  
  
Stoney: [blinks in confusion] Ummm...the heck? Contrary to what you may think, Echoes, I have nothing against steel, silicon, iron, pewter, nickel, titanium, aluminum, tin, brass, lead, copper, mercury, silver, bronze, gold, platinum, stainless steel, or any other metals you can think of! Although it might SEEM that way when I'm really mad at my slow-as-heck modem, it's not true! Honestly!  
  
(Well said.)  
  
Stoney: Thank you. [gets smacked in the side of the head by a flying puppy] OW! What the--?? Did you do that, Parentheses?  
  
(Who, US? No!)  
  
(Stoney looks around, sees the puppy, immediately hisses)  
  
Stoney: AAHH! DOG! SOMEBODY CALL THE POUND!  
  
(What's your problem?)  
  
Stoney: As anybody who's read my bio knows, I'm a cat!  
  
(the puppy looks up at Stoney with big, cute eyes)  
  
Stoney: [pauses, then sighs] Aww, it's just a little kid. Even I can't stay mad at something so cute! [kneels down so he's eye-level with the puppy] Here, doggy-doggy-doggie!  
  
(Puppy's eyes turn blood-red, then it leaps forward and bites Stoney on the nose)  
  
Stoney: .............  
  
(Uh-oh...)  
  
Stoney: ......EEEEYYYYOOOOWWWW!! [Hops around frantically with the dog hanging on to his nose] OWOWOWOWOW! GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF! AHHHH! SOMEBODY HELP ME!!  
  
(The evil, demonic puppy vanishes in a puff of non-existence)  
  
Stoney: [sighs, rubs his sore nose] Whew, thanks Parentheses.  
  
(Welcome.)  
  
Stoney: I wonder where the heck that puppy came from...oh, well, new letter! [picks up an envelope] Ooh, another letter from AnT! He says:  
  
"Again with the cliffhanger! Damn it! I should've known Sonic would act like that in front of MegaMan. Hope you update REAL SOON!!"  
  
Stoney: MWA HA HA! I am the suspense MASTER! You shall all bow down before the awesome power of my cliffhangers! [blinks, suddenly normal again] Anyhoo, what did you originally think Sonic would act like? A toaster?  
  
(Sonic drops onscreen from above)  
  
Stoney: [staring at Sonic in amazement] How'd you do that?  
  
Sonic: Chaos Control.  
  
Stoney: Oh.  
  
Sonic: Anyway, if you make me act like that, I swear I'll sic Omochao on you!  
  
Stoney: Act like what?  
  
Sonic: Like... [sighs] Just forget it.  
  
Stoney: Okey-dokey! [picks up...ah, you know it by now] Well, whaddaya know? A new reader! His name is Travis Lewis X, Emerald Dragon!  
  
Sonic: Ooooh, a dragon! I wonder if he's related to Dulcy?  
  
Stoney: Who?  
  
Sonic: A friend of mine. C'mon, let's read the letter already!  
  
Stoney: Alright. It says:  
  
"This is a GREAT fiction. All the characters are well represented, and the plot is tight.  
  
Heh, I THOUGHT Kirby was a little more than meets the eye...  
  
Haven't seen Tango in a LONG time. KITTY! ^o^  
  
Mario seems to be quite IC. And Luigi eating a salad was funnah! ^_~  
  
FINISH! OR I SEND THE LEATHERBACK DOGS AFTER YOU!"  
  
  
  
Stoney: [cringes] Ack! Not dogs! Those are worse than puppies!  
  
Sonic: [Scratches head in confusion] What's a 'fiction'?  
  
Stoney: [reads letter again] Hmm...'the plot is tight'...wait a second. Plot?? [Slaps forehead] D'oh! I knew I forgot something! Oh, well. Maybe I could include a plot in the later chapters...  
  
Sonic: What're you talking about? What chapters?  
  
Stoney: ...of course, a good plot always requires good foreshadowing, so if I just start one here it'll seem too abrupt. Maybe I should just redo the whole story...  
  
Sonic: Are you even listening to me??  
  
Stoney: ...but that'll take to long to do. It took me long enough just to get this chapter done, Lord knows how long it'll take me to do the other 10...  
  
Sonic: That does it! I've had enough! [walks off-screen in disgust]  
  
Stoney: ...actually, now that I think about it, there is a plot. But it's a long one; we're still somewhere in the conflict part of it. [reads letter yet again] Ah yes, Tango. The much-underrated cat from the Game Boy game Mega Man V. I really don't like how he's been shoved out of the spotlight while Rush gets all the attention, so I decided to include him in this fic. Just you wait---Tango's gonna get a MAJOR part in the story later on! Yahoo!  
  
Stoney: [Picks up another letter) Another new reader, whoo hoo! M. E. Gibbs writes:  
  
"MY GOD THE CHARACTERS HAVE PERSONALITY!  
  
What a novel concept....  
  
Sorry, ignore my cynasism (and spelling for that matter...)  
  
An EXCELLENT piece so far. You can really feel the characters, they aren't just there for cameos. Each character has their own problems, difficulties, and conflicts, not just the main character, which is one of the things that makes this story so fantastic. This keyboard I'm typing on really sucks...but that has nothing to do with your story so, yeah, I'll just shut up. Can't wait to see what happens next and how everything ties together! Keep up the fantastic writing!"  
  
Stoney: To respond to this letter, I'll need to be serious for a bit.  
  
(Is that even possible?)  
  
Stoney: Yes, so be quiet! Ahem. A wise man once said: "Bad characters suck." Or maybe that was my English teacher, I'm not sure. After playing video games for years, I've grown increasingly appalled at the lack of general information for some of the most popular characters in gaming history. Nintendo never told us where Mario or Luigi came from; Capcom managed to form a reasonably good origin story for Mega Man, but struck out big-time when it came to describing everything else about him; as for Sega, they did a lousy job in explaining the physics of their characters. And these are just a few of the inconsistencies!  
  
Something had to be done.  
  
So I decided to try filling the gaps in the information myself. And I decided to do so through a story. I didn't want to write a series, but instead one epic novel. How was I to incorporate so many characters from so many different universes together in one story without making the book longer than the Guinness Book of World Records?  
  
Of course! A crossover fic!  
  
The rest is history. What you've read so far has been a monumental effort on my part to create viable personalities for these characters. I've tried to create explanations for some of their vaguer aspects, and conjured up possible reactions the characters would go through in certain circumstances. I'm glad you appreciate the end product. Thanks for the wonderful compliments, they really encourage me to keep on writing.  
  
By the way, M.E., what do you think of the name of Knuckles' theme from Sonic Adventure? Did that song really come from you?  
  
Stoney: [picks up another letter] Yay, another new reader! I'm so happy! This one is named Aura Starfire! She says:  
  
"Wow! So far I am amazed, this a FANTASTIC fanfiction, the interaction between the characters is spot on (except for those I don't know, since I haven't played their games) and it's got me hanging on every word. :) Keep on going!"  
  
Stoney: [awed voice] Amazing! I don't believe it! I........I've got......FANS!  
  
(a red man with goat legs, a pointy tail, and horns on his head appears out of nowhere)  
  
Man: Excuse me, but would you be the person responsible for my domain freezing over just now?  
  
Stoney: What? Who are you?  
  
Man: The Devil. [brandishes a pitchfork in Stoney's direction] Now, I repeat: Did YOU cause the sudden drop in temperature down below?  
  
Stoney: No! It's not MY fault!  
  
Devil: Tell that to them. [points at a group of pigs flying overhead]  
  
Stoney: Parentheses, please get these guys out of here!  
  
(Well, since you asked so nicely...)  
  
(the devil and pigs all vanish in a puff of non-existence)  
  
Stoney: Thanks.  
  
(That's the third time we've helped you. You owe us.)  
  
Stoney: I know, I know.  
  
(Stoney stands up, does the funky chicken, recites the Gettysburg Address backwards and sits down)  
  
Stoney: I did NOT just do that!  
  
(Yes, you did.)  
  
Stoney: No, I didn't! I couldn't recite the whole Gettysburg Address FORWARDS if I wanted to, let alone backwards!  
  
(An anvil falls on Stoney's head as punishment for his insolence)  
  
Stoney: WHAT?! [looks up] Oh, crud...  
  
(WHAM!!)  
  
Stoney: [tosses anvil off him] You jerks! You did that on purpose!  
  
(Stoney spontaneously combusts, thus shutting him up)  
  
Stoney: No, YOU shut up! Why I oughtta-- [combusts] AAAAHHH!  
  
(Bass walks onscreen)  
  
Bass: Hey Stoney, how's it--HOLY CRAP! FIRE!  
  
(Bass runs back off-screen)  
  
Bass: [from off-screen] AAAHHH! HELP! FIRE! WAKE THE PRESIDENT! MAN THE LIFEBOATS! CALL THE GAMEMASTER! THERE'S A FIRE GOING ON! AHHH!  
  
(fire goes out)  
  
Stoney: [now crispy-fried and smoking] Ow... [coughs] You meanies...  
  
(Suddenly, a--)  
  
Stoney: OKAY, OKAY! I take it back! You're the best set of parentheses I've ever used, okay?!  
  
(Much better.)  
  
Stoney: Sheesh. Talk about sensitive. I think I'll use the brackets from now on, they're more agreeable...oh crap, did I just say that out loud?!  
  
(a wet sponge the size of a tow truck falls on Stoney, burying him in the ground)  
  
Stoney: [muffled] OW!!  
  
(I think he's finished talking, for now at least. Thanks for writing in, guys, and thanks for reading so far! You're one of the main reasons Stoney keeps writing this silly fanfic! Keep on writing, and we'll answer more of your reviews next time! Until then, see ya!)  
  
Stoney: [muffled] Are you going to help me out from underneath this thing?  
  
(No.) 


	13. Chapter Twelve: Deadline

The Crossover Saga

A Fanfiction by Stoney

**THE AUTHOR'S FOREWORD-COMMENTS-NOTE-THINGY:**

IMPORTANT NOTE THAT YOU DON'T WANT TO SKIP OVER: Anything that is indicated in brackets _[like this] _is an action, description, or narration. It is NOT dialogue! 

.....Wow. I actually managed to be serious for once..............amazing....

(Greetings, people! Since Stoney's still, um, 'incapacitated', we the Parentheses will be reading your letters for this chapter!)

**Stoney****:** _[muffled] _I'LL GET YOU FOR THIS! MARK MY WORDS!!

(Um…..heheh…..Let's go to the first letter, shall we? It's from one of our long-time readers, Yoshiman!! He says: )

"Great. As usual. All right, I've heard enough of Kamek casting Final Fantasy spells. Let's see some real deal!

(Well, Yoshiman, we TRIED to get the Light Warriors for the story, but the negotiations didn't really work out between them and Stoney. Black Mage, being the destructive maniac he is, wanted to have it written into his contract that he could burn kittens in the story whenever he felt like it. Stoney, being a cat, didn't exactly like that idea.)

**Stoney****:** Yeah, but all of them wanted specific rights written into their contracts, not just Black Mage. Fighter wanted the mystical Excalibur of King Arthur fame, and Thief demanded that he write his contract himself. Luckily, Red Mage agreed without adding anything to his contract after we told him about all the EXP he'd gain from accepting the offer. 

(Last we checked, though, he's been going on a subquest with the other Light Warriors. So, they're pretty much out of the picture for now.)

**Stoney****: **Well, actually, Black Mage did agree to small cameos every now and then until the subquest is over.....so we might see him later sometime.

(Yoshiman's letter continues: )

  
"I'll start a chant."

(Uhm…..)

**Stoney****:** That's really not necessary…..  
  


"LIGHT WARRIORS! LIGHT WARRIORS! LIGHT WARRIORS!  
Oooooo-oooo-OOOOh!"

**Stoney****:** Oh God, please kill me now…..

"LIGHT WARRIORS! LIGHT WARRIORS! LIGHT WARRIORS!  
Oooooo-oooo-OOOOh!  
  
Or something like that. I don't even have a tune. Make something up."

(Howzabout the Final Fantasy Victory Theme? That's appropriate.)

**Stoney****:** Parentheses, shut up!!  
  


"-Yoshiman  
  
P.S. '[You've been] a real pantload' is a message in Space Quest IV after you die. (Thank you for playing Space Quest IV! As usual, you've been a real pantload!) (Boy, am I a geek or what?)"

(Nah, you're not a geek! You're just 'informationally knowledgeable'.)

**Stoney****:** Yeah, I also know lots of useless trivia like that…..

(The next letter is from Everybody's Favorite Gamemaster, Anthony Bault!)

**Stoney****:** WHAT?!?! Let me respond to it! Oh please oh please oh PLEASE!

(No.)

**Stoney****:** Damn you…..

(Anyway, Anthony says: )

"Sorry, I haven't reviewed for a while...oh wait, hang on a bit..."  
  
_[Anthony uses Telekinesis to lift the wet sponge off of Stoney]___

(OH, NO!!!)

**Stoney****:** YAY! _[climbs up out of impact crater] _Thanks Anth! _[grabs the wet sponge out of mid-air and throws it at Parentheses] _

(OW!)

**Stoney****:** _[dusting himself off] _Anyway, now that I'm free, I'll be nice and let Parentheses read the rest of your letter before I beat the living snot outta' them for putting me in that hole.

(Uh….................thanks…..?)

"There you go. Anyway, the story's still looking great so far! And you even gave me a mention! Thanks! ^_^"

**Stoney****:** Welcome! You can cameo here anytime, Anth! In fact….

AT THAT MOMENT, INSIDE THE INTERNATIONAL ARCADIAN HEADQUARTERS ON EARTH....

**Reporter:** I'm Shmala Shmee--shmesh, live at the scene of the Arcadia Peace Conference, where legendary Gamemaster Anthony Bault is about to sign a treaty that will henceforth ban all wars, FOREVER!

_[Camera pans over to show Anthony sitting at an executive-looking desk in front of a huge crowd containing all the representatives of the various Arcadian worlds. He leans forward,  preparing to sign his name at the bottom of a elaborately-written document.]_

**Reporter:** This is what we've been waiting for, folks! Eternal peace, from here on in!

_[POOF!__ Anthony suddenly disappears!]_

**Crowd:** _[gasps]_

BACK WITH STONEY....

_[POOF!__ Anthony Bault appears out of nowhere.]_

**Stoney****:** Hello, Anth!

**Anthony:**_ [still holding the pen] _What the heck?! Where am I??

(Welcome to the Abode of the Mentally Insane. The cat in front of you is the resident psychopath.)

**Stoney****:** Just for that, Parentheses, I'm gonna beat the living snot outta' your families, too.

**Anthony:** _[points at Stoney] _Who are you?!?!

**Stoney****:**_ [bows low] _A huge fan of yours, sir.

**Anthony:** _[pauses, sweatdrops] _Oh God, not another one...

**Stoney****:** _[still bowing] _I am extremely honored to be in your presence, sir. Please accept this cameo as a sign of my gratitude for inspiring me to be as authorly as yourself.

**Anthony:** Uh........okay.........

**Stoney****:** I now return you to your house on Earth, so you can return to your activities.

**Anthony:** My house?_ [blinks] _But...wait! Not there! When you brought me here, I was--

_[POOF!__ Anthony's gone.]_

**Stoney****:** Right, there you go! I hope you liked the cameo, Anth! Now, I do believe some unfinished business is in order….._[__cracks knuckles while looking at Parentheses menacingly]_

(Er…..hey, look over there! Is that a free bag of catnip?)

**Stoney****:** HUH?? Where?!? _[turns to look]_

(Yoink!) _[disappears]_

**Stoney****:** _[looks around and notices that Parentheses are gone] _Dammit!

~Too bad for you, huh?~

**Stoney****:** Oh, hello Tilde! Glad you could join us! Everybody, this is my new replacement for Parentheses! Say hi to everybody, Tilde!

~Hi!~

**Stoney****:** Now, we need to go find Parentheses. Where would I go if I was a punctuation mark.....? Hmmm....._[__thinks]_

~I've got some more letters here…~

**Stoney****:** Not now Tilde, I'm thinking!

~But these are really interesting, though!~

**Stoney****:** Oh, fine, I'll deal with Parentheses later. Who's the first one from?

~Angel-Weasel Woman.~

**Stoney****:** Oh yeah, I remember her. One of the RMF, isn't she?

~The what?~

**Stoney****:** Rabid Mecha Fans.

~Oh. Yeah, she is…wanna read it?~

**Stoney****:** Okay! She says:

"Kwaa! ^_^ I got around to reading this again! Is so good! *grinz* Keep up the good work!"

**Stoney****:** Tilde, as your first assignment, please go look up the word 'grinz' in Fanfiction.Net's dictionary.

~Actually, I think it's--~

**Stoney****:** DO IT!

~Eeep!~

**Stoney****:** _[re-reads letter] _Well, that's nic-

_[ZOOM! A blurry shape rushes by Stoney.]_

**Stoney****:** What the--?

**Rabid Mecha Fans:** THERE HE GOES!

**Stoney****:** _[turns around and sees a massive crowd of screaming fans bearing down on him] _Aaaaahhhh! Stampede! _[starts to run away] _Flee for your lives! Seek higher ground!!

**RMF:** HURRY! DON'T LET HIM GET AWAY!

**Stoney****:** _[catches up with the blurry shape that passed him earlier, recognizes it as a certain robotic hedgehog] _Well, well, well, who do we have here? _[takes deep breath, then yells really loudly] _HI, MECHA!!!

**Mecha****:**_ [emits a startled shriek and looks behind him to see who spoke]_ You!

**Stoney****:** Me!

**Mecha****:**_ [Breathing hard in relief, clutching at his chest] _Don't DO that! I thought you were one of THEM!

**Stoney****:** Who?

**Mecha****:** _[points at the pursuing crowd of RMF's] _THEM.

**Stoney****:** Oh.

**Mecha****:** How'd you find me?!

**Stoney****:** That's my secret! By the way, look out.

**Mecha****:** What? _[turns around and sees a tree flying towards him]_

_[WHAM!!]___

**Mecha****:**…..Ow. _[stumbles away dizzily from the tree] _That hurt…

**Stoney****:** _[looks at tree, lightbulb blinks into existence over his head] _Wait, I think I've got an idea! Mecha, why don't you climb up this tree and escape?

**Mecha****:** _[points out the many branches on the tree] _They'd follow me.

**Stoney****:** Not with….THESE! _[pulls a chainsaw and a can of Crisco out of nowhere]_

MEANWHILE, ABOUT 50 YARDS BACK…

  
**Angel Weasel-Woman:** _[Finally catches up to the other RMFs] _Sorry all! I had to make a pit stop in the Sonic Underground universe. _[gestures to Manic, who's hog-tied and being dragged along behind her by a chain]  
  
_

**Manic:** _[speaking through a gag wrapped around his mouth]_.... Helf meh....pleezh....  
  


**Angel:** _[notices that the RMFs are all camped out at the base of a humongous redwood tree that, suspiciously, has no branches and is greased up; secures chain around ankle] _What's with y'all?

  
**Random RMF:** _[points to the very top of the tree, around 200 feet up]_

  
**Angel:** _[takes out a pair of binoculars and looks through them; she sees an angry Mecha sitting on the only branch at the very top of the tree, with a chainsaw and an empty can of Crisco by his side.] _Great, you've found him! So who's gonna go up there? _[notices that everyone is looking at her] _Wait, you don't expect ME to.......I mean, how th' heck am I gonna get up there?! _[folds her arms, fluttering her wings irritably]  
  
_

**Everyone else:** _[GLARE. One guy smacks his forehead with the palm of his hand.]  
  
_

**Angel:** _[glances at wings] ......_ Oh yeah! ^_^ 

_[Meanwhile, Tilde reappears from his definition hunt.]_

~Wow, I didn't know you could speak in emoticons…can you teach me how to do that?~

**Angel:** Maybe some other time. _[flies up to top of tree] _MECHA!!  
  


**Mecha****:** _[notices her] _AAAHHH! Dammit Stoney, you said this would work! 

**Stoney****:** _[emerges from behind the tree, where he'd been hiding] _Oops…

**Angel:** _[dives at Mecha] _Come here, you cute little Mechie--poo!

**Mecha****:** _[screams and activates rocket engine, flying away at top speed]_

_  
_**Angel:** Hurry, after him! _[lands on the ground and starts running after Mecha] _

**All RMFs:** _[follow Angel]  
  
_

**Manic:** _[being dragged along behind them by the chain attached to Angel's ankle, screaming for dear life]_

**Stoney****:** _[watching all this and laughing his head off]_

_[KABOOM!__ A rocket comes zooming down from the sky and explodes at Stoney's feet, just barely missing him]_

**Stoney****:** Yipe!

**Mecha****:** _[yells from far away] _Stop laughing! This isn't funny!!

_[Angel, the RMF's, and Mecha disappear over the horizon]_

**Stoney****:**...........well, that was certainly interesting.

~Hey Stoney, I'm back! It turns out that the word 'grinz' is a typo. It's supposed to be 'grins'.~

**Stoney****:** Well, who'da thunk it?! Thanks, Tilde! 

~Never mind that, I've got more letters! Here's one from Formerly Known As.....~

"And lo, Stoney came down unto the miserable peoples of the internet and said unto them 'There shall be another chapter.' And lo, there was another chapter. And there was much rejoicing!"

**Stoney****:** Uhm, yay, I think. _[nods]_

  
".....Right, anyway! Had to get that out of me. GREAT chapter. Lots of suspense and action. I like Kamek being a great programmer but hating computers. Nice twist.

**Kamek****:** Yeah, well, I hate it! _[glares at Stoney]_ Why couldn't you pick on someone your own size, huh?!

**Stoney****:** Do you want the realistic answer or the sugar-coated one?

**Kamek****:** Realistic. Tell me the truth!

**Stoney****:** They'd fight back.

**Kamek****:** _[speechless]_

**Stoney****:** Anyway, thanks for visiting, Kamek! Tilde, if you would kindly show him to the door?

~This way, please.~ _[picks Kamek up and tosses him out an open window]_

**Kamek****:** _[falls for a bit, then flies back into view on his broomstick] _That wasn't funny.

~I thought it was.~ _[closes window, cutting off Kamek in mid-retort]_

**Stoney****: **We now return to your regularly scheduled mail-reading:

  
"It's really nice to know that there are people out there that really care about the characters, about their reactions, preferences, histories, PERSONALITIES....."

**Stoney****:** I'd like to point out at this point that Formerly Known As considers me, quote, 'The god of giving characters personalities.' End quote. FEAR ME, FOOLISH MORTALS! BWAHAHAHA!

~Okay, now you're starting to creep ME out.~

**Stoney****:** Sorry about that.

  
"It's just great to know that for those of us who care...we're not alone.   
And um...M. E. are my initials. It has nothing to do with the Knuckles theme...THEY STOLE MY INITIALS THE LITTLE....Uh...sorry bout that. I never really thought about how the Knuckles theme has my initials before now...Hmmm....those little thieves..."  
  


**Stoney****:** Oh, don't be so modest. Seriously, how much did they pay you?

  
"Okay, this review is practically as long as the story, so um...I'll go away now...Keep writing and finish another chapter or suffer the wrath of the impatient fans!"

**Stoney****:** _[grumbling]_ Too late. I've already gotten five mail bombs this week. FIVE! I sure hope you fans are happy with yourselves. _[sighs]_ Oh well, dem's the breaks. The next letter is from the irrepressable AnT! Joy! He says:

"Man. Someone from some Final Fantasy game is in the fic--"

**Stoney****:** Actually, like Yoshiman said, that was just Kamek casting spells. Sorry for the misconception.

"--Sigma is making his move, Sonic is taken by somebody he thought was Knuckles, and poor Bowser. What's next?"

**Stoney****: **Read belowand find out!  
  
"Hey, I'm also making my own Mega crossover that's a little bit like yours, only it'll have anime and some american cartoon characters as well as game characters. And the fic stars in my own charcters as the main characters."

**Stoney****:** _[strokes his furry chin] _Curious.....well, what do you know! The next letter is from me best bud, Sparky the Seventh Chaos! Take it away, Sparkster!

"Ooooo... this is cool! Very very very very... Who's the guy Bowser put in cryo-stasis?! Is he a certain hedgehog with black and red quills?! Or am I just showing off the the weirdness of being a rabid Shadow fangirl again?"

**Stoney****:** Nope! See, Bowser originally TRIED to freeze Shadow, but our favorite Ultimate Life Form didn't like the idea of being frozen again, and basically wound up kicking his ass. So, the Koopa King had to choose another, less hostile candidate. Sorry, Sparky, you'll have to wait a bit more if you want to see the other SEGA characters.....

   
"YAAAAY! Luigi get major role! With Link, no less! And Sparky even likes Mega Man and his sidekicks, even though she has never played any of their games!"

**Stoney****:** _[shaking his head] _Tsk, tsk.

"Very well done! SPARKY LIKES! SPARKY LIKES A LOT!!! Yaaaaay! Wheeeeeeeeee..."   
_[abruptly faints]_  
  


**Buck the Mewtwo:** _[sighs and pushes Submit Review button]_

**Stoney****:** Oh, hello Buck! I didn't see you there. Is she on a sugar high again?

**Buck:** Like I've never seen. I'm gonna go take some asprin now.....see ya.

**Stoney****:** Bye!

~He seemed nice.~

Stoney: Yeah, but I wonder sometimes how he puts up with Sparky's constant hyperactivity. _[shrugs] _I guess it'll just remain one of those unexplained mysteries of the universe.....until someone writes a book about it.

~The next letter is from Dr. Sipp, who I am highly suspicious is some distant relative of Dr. Pepper.~

"Hey! Good fic you have here, Stoney. I'm not too familiar with all the characters.....but, I like the story a lot. The vocabulary is great, the insight of the chars is awesome.  
Hem, is the figure our ol' pal Knuckles, or is it Robo-Knux?   
Keep writing... or I'll..um... do something. Yeah..."

**Stoney****: **Something, such as send me a mail bomb? Yeah, I thought you were one of the people behind that. And on another note, why didn't you bloody TELL me you were on Netraptor's website?!? (The same question goes out to you, Aura Starfire!) I must say that is one of the coolest things I've ever heard of. Be proud of yourself; I know I am.

Hmm. It seems like a lot of people are having difficulty familiarizing themselves with the characters.

~That can mean only one thing.~

**Stoney****:** That's right! ROLL THE CREDITS!!

_[big, cheesy fanfare]_

Stoney's

THE CROSSOVER SAGA

--Credits--

**Director****--**Stoney

**Producer****--**Stoney

**Screenplay Writer****--**Stoney

**Makeup Artist****--**Stoney

**Clothing Designer****--**Stoney

**Camera Guy****--**Stoney

**Chief Snorkeler 3rd Class****--**Stoney

**Inspiration****--**Netraptor, Anthony Bault, Murr Quan Lord #2, Arxane, Miranda Pauge, Lady Rose, Dan Drazen, Red Draco, Jetmode, Ian Potto, Formerly Known As, DragonBoy, Yoshiman, and countless unnamed others. Thanks for being such great writers, you guys!

**Cast (not necessarily in order):**

**Pikachu****--**If you don't know who this is, then please leave the rock you've been living under so somebody else can stay there. Part of the genus 'Pokemon', which are animals famous for their speech impediments. Can shoot lightning from its cheeks, and even call upon a thunderstorm for aid when in battle. Fell asleep one day and wound up in Dreamland; Is currently possessed by Dark Matter and running amok somewhere. (Pika!)

**Mario****--**Not knowing who _this _guy is, is a crime worse than never hearing about Pikachu. For orgins 'n stuff, look at the Prolouge.

**Luigi, Princess Peach, Princess Daisy, Bowser, and the Koopa Troop****--**Same as above.****

**Kamek****--**Bowser's chief wizard and all-around advisor, Kamek has been around for a long, long time; ever since before Mario and Luigi were born, in fact. Once, when the Mario Bros. were still in diapers, Kamek took a peek into the future and saw how much trouble they were going to cause him. He tried to get rid of Luigi, but forgot about Mario, who enlisted the help of the Yoshis to rescue his bro. Of course, they succeeded. Kamek learned his lesson and abstained from any more kidnapping plots, instead letting Bowser take care of that department.

**Kirby****--**With a past shrouded in mystery, nobody is really sure whether to regard Kirby as a living, breathing individual, or just a giant pink marshmallow. Hailing from planet Pop Star in a solar system now known as Kingdom Dreamland, this famished fellow has often saved several from pompous penguins and deadly Dark Matter. His role in this story takes place before the events of Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards.

**Dark Matter****--**Nobody knows exactly where this evil presence came from. All that is known is that one day it decided to start possessing the bodies of random Dreamlanders, and Kirby had to go stop him with the help of friends Rick, Coo, and Kine, as chronicled in his second Game Boy game. In Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, Dark Matter takes over an entire planet.

Normally Dark Matter lives on the nightmarish Dark Star, but the appearance of portals lately has allowed it to travel into other worlds, including the Mushroom Kingdom. 

_[dum dum DUM!]_

**Sigma****--**Sorry, can't say anything about this guy just yet. It'd ruin some of the suspense for those of you not familiar with him. (Which excludes pretty much all of you.)

**Mega Man****--**Ah, yes. The Blue Bomber. Champion of Truth, Justice and the American Way, or something like that. In the heady years of 20XX, robotics has become highly advanced to the point where near-sentient robots are being produced on a regular basis. Mega Man happens to be one of them.

Originally named Rock, he was meant to be a lab assistant to the elderly, kind-hearted Doctor Light. But then a botched experiment caused Dr. Light's partner, Dr. Wily, to go clinically insane. The crazed Wily reprogrammed ten robots he and Light had been building with the intentions of helping out humans with hard labor, and declared war on the whole frickin' planet.

Light remodeled Rock into a combat robot (complete with a modified laser gun he named the 'Mega Buster') and renamed him Mega Man. Light sent him off to destroy the robots and capture Wily. Mega Man was successful on the first objective, but not the second. Wily got away and returned a couple years later with a new batch of robots and another bid at world domination. Mega kicked his ass. Wily escaped. Repeat again, but this time Wily supposedly dies underneath a massive multi-ton steel beam that clonks him on the head when his place of residence--a massive fortress shaped like a human skull--spontaneously decides to collapse. Mega Man is rescued by a mysterious stranger, and discovers that before creating him, Dr. Light and Dr. Wily had built a prototype robot they'd named Blues. When Blues was accidentally hurled across space/time in a teleporter accident, he renamed himself Protoman and spent the next several years trying to get home. By the time Wily goes 'splat', he succeeds. (Yes, he was the mysterious stranger who saved Mega's bacon.)

Big family reunion, lots of hugs, yadda yadda. Wily, who turns out to be not-quite-dead after all, kidnaps the daughter of a big Russian scientist named Cossack and blackmails him into building eight new robots to destroy Mega Man. Mega blows shit up, and Protoman rescues Cossack's daughter. Then Mega Man goes and beats the crap outta' Wily yet again.

Fifth go-around, Wily frames Protoman with a robot look-alike and kidnaps Dr. Light. The real Proto doesn't appreciate that, and helps Mega destroy the imposter and free the good Doctor. Of course, this doesn't hinder Wily's remarkable ability to flee from battle when things aren't going his way. He puts this ability to good use right here.

Next year this weird old guy named Dr. X hosts a competition to see who can build the smartest robot. Bunches of scientists enter, including Dr. Light. But it turns out to be a hoax; Dr. X is really Wily in disguise! (For an insane guy, he's pretty crafty.) Wily takes all the robots that had been entered, reprograms them, and uses them to take over key locations in each of the continents. Of course it's up to Mega Man to stop them. You can pretty much guess the outcome of this confrontation on your own.

At this point Wily decided that there's something special about Mega Man that allows him to lay the smack down so well. He builds his own equivalent of Mega Man, and names him Bass. Bass tricks Mega Man into thinking he's one of the good guys, and pretends to be hurt so Mega will offer to take him back to Dr. Light's HQ for repairs. Bass accepts, goes to the HQ, and has a good old time wrecking everything he can see while stealing some plans for enhancements originally meant for Mega Man and his robotic dog helper, Rush. Bass gives the plans to Wily, who immediately uses them on Bass and _his _robotic dog, Treble.

Mega Man goes home and finds a catastrophe. He becomes decidedly pissed, and storms off to Wily's citadel in a rage. Bass meets him there, and the two of them fight. Bass loses of course, but returns shortly with Treble. The two of them merge into a super 'bot that Mega easily defeats. Bass is furious, demands to know why he can't beat Mega Man, but teleports away before the Blue Bomber can answer. Without Bass to stand in his way, Mega opens up the can of whoop-ass on Wily and escapes while the fortress blows up.

At this point, Mega Man goes into stasis mode to recharge one night and suddenly finds himself in Dreamland. He calls Rush, Tango and Eddie to his side to help him out; but they're unable to teleport away afterwards like they normally do. Mega decides to make the most of his situation and takes up residence in the first town he finds, which happens to be the Forest Village that Mario & Crew arrive at later. The rest is history.

**Sonic****--**The Fastest Thing Alive. The Blue Blur. The Hedgehog with an Attitude. Whatever you call him, the meaning is always the same; Sonic is aptly named, due to his remarkable ability to reach speeds exceeding Mach 1 on foot. Blue in hue, with flesh-colored arms, stomach, and muzzle, Sonic is obviously not a normal hedgehog. For one thing, he can speak fluent English and Japanese. He's bipedal. His quills are sharp enough to slice through iron. And when he curls up into a ball, he becomes a deadly projectile.

His past is one that has been subject to much argument and speculation. One theory states that he lives on a planet known as Mobius, and took up residence in the capital city of Mobotropolis until the nasty fat man Robotnik performed a coup on the resident King and named himself Supreme Dictator for Life. After that Sonic grew up with a band of fugitives in the secret forest village of Knothole, and at age 16 formed a band of Freedom Fighters with them to operate hit-and-run missions on the newly-named Robotropolis.

Another theory declares his place of residence to be at South Island on the planet Earth, where he began fighting Doctor Eggman after the mad scientist began performing illegal experiments that involved turning animals into robots. He joined up with a young two-tailed fox named Miles Prower and repeatedly wrecked the Doc's plans over and over, enlisting the help of a dreadlocked echidna named Knuckles along the way. Later the doctor attempted to ressurect an ancient water demon named Chaos with the help of seven magical gems named Chaos Emeralds. By the time Sonic discovered what was going on and attempted to stop Eggman, Chaos had already gained all seven Emeralds. Using the newfound power at its disposal, Chaos proceeded to completely annihilate the bustling Sapphire City, which was about the size and population density of America's New York. With some help from his friends, Sonic was able to steal the emeralds' power back from Chaos and use it to transform into his invincible alter ego, Super Sonic. At that point, it was no contest. Super Sonic smacked Chaos around and taught him a lesson. Chaos saw the light and after an emotional scene, joined the good guys' side. Meanwhile, Eggman got away. Go figure.

For the purposes of this story, both of the theories on Sonic's past have been used.

**Metal Sonic****--**No matter which theory about Sonic you choose to believe, chances are that Metal Sonic is part of it. Occasionally called Mecha or just plain Metal, he is the most advanced robot ever made by Robotnik/Eggman, and built to resemble a twisted reflection of Sonic. He has a built-in rocket engine in his backside that he uses to match Sonic's speed; His eyes are made of tinted black glass, and his pupils are a glowing electronic crimson. (Creepy, eh?) He has a passionate hatred for Sonic that runs far wider and deeper than his creator's, and will do anything possible for the chance to destroy his namesake.

**Link****--**Well, excuse _me_ for putting him last on the list. As the profecised Hero of Time in the feudal kingdom of Hyrule, this kid has probably rescued as many princesses as Mario has, if not more. Raised by a group of forest people called the Kokiri, his life was fine and dandy until the King of Thieves, Ganondorf, decided to muck things up. He threw a coup and killed the king, but forgot about the princess Zelda, who escaped in the nick of time and went into hiding. Link decided a coup was not a good thing, and tried to get a weapon that was guaranteed to defeat Ganondorf once and for all; the blade of evil's bane, the Master Sword. Unfortunately, this sword seemed to have a mind of its own, and other plans to boot. It decided that tiny 10-year-old Link was a bit too young to swing it around like a baseball bat, and threw him into a coma for seven years until he grew old enough to properly weld it. During that time, Ganondorf conquered Hyrule.

Poor Link woke up to discover the land he loved in a virtual state of ruin. He went on a Holy Crusade to awaken seven Sages that were said to hold the power needed to get inside Ganondorf's nifty new floating castle where Princess Zelda was now being held (after finally being stupid enough to get herself captured). Short version, Link makes it inside the castle. Upon confronting his mortal enemy in the highest room of the tallest tower, he spake unto Ganondorf; "Yo' ass is mine, biatch!"

Insert big battle scene here. Link rips Ganondorf a new one and high-tails it out of there with the princess while the place crumbles down around his ears. Once he makes it outside, he discovers that some villians just don't stay dead like they're supposed to. Ganondorf comes back to life as the monster Ganon and makes a really bad choice in deciding what his new body should look like. I mean.....ick. 

Link, who by now is wholly pissed, takes the Master Sword and stabs Ganon in the head. Zelda shows him her undying gratitude by involuntarily forcing him back in time until he's a kid again. Pretty crappy award if you ask me.

Fast forward to the present, before the events of the Nintendo 64 game Majora's Mask. Now the green-wearing Hylian is up to his pointed little ears in big steaming piles of trouble. What, oh what can he do?

**Stoney****:** Whew, what a list! Now, we've got just a couple more letters left to go. Let's hurry up and read them, eh wot? The first is from Pokemonrex. He (she?) writes:

"A thought just occured to me. On the game 'Star Fox Adventures' for the Gamecube, it says the Krazoa Spirits have the ability to control dark matter. Just thought I'd let you know."

**Stoney****: **_[pouts]_ I still haven't been able to play that game, even though I own a Gamecube! It's just not fair.....

"I somehow think you've played SSB: Melee before. Are Marth or Roy not going to be in the fic? They're just my favorite characters. And Mewtwo. He's just plain cool."

**Stoney****:** Good deductive reasoning! Yes, I own the game, it rocks, blah blah blah. But it doesn't mean I'm gonna limit the characters to those that appear in SSB: Melee, though (unlike an alarming number of recent game crossovers)! As for Fire Emblem, please refer to the note at this chapter's bottom for your answer.

"Anyways, great story. Not sure if I've reviewed before, but decided to when I thought about the Krazoa thing. For now, so long."

**Stoney****:** New reader Sakura Isthill writes the next letter:

"I love it! The only thing that could possibly make this better is if Shadow was in it!" _[nudges author suggestively]_

**Stoney****:** Hey! Aagh!_ [falls over]_ Ouch.....look, I'll put Shadow and the other SEGA characters in the story eventually, all right?! Just not yet. If you read this chapter, you'll understand why and how. And since I don't think there are any letters left to read.....be my guest!

By the way, welcome to 2003, people! This year, I resolve to keep my resolution. Go ahead, try to figure that one out. I still haven't.

_--------------------_

"It all started several months ago, when I accidentally stumbled upon the most remarkable spell I'd ever seen….." Kamek began.

--------------------

_"So, what do you call it?" Bowser prompted the Magikoopa standing next to him._

_Kamek__ paused to push his glasses back up onto his nose-beak. The white glow from the shimmering portal in front of them reflected blindingly off the lenses, forcing Bowser to turn his head away and blink the spots out of his eyes. "I think I'll call it a 'Plot Hole'." Kamek finally replied._

_Bowser stared at him, forgetting about the glare his glasses gave off for the moment. "WHAT?"_

_"Plot Hole.__ Got a nice ring to it, doesn't it?"_

_Bowser sighed and shook his head. "Fine, whatever. I suppose you have your reasons for naming it that. What does it do?"_

_"Well, it appears to be a gateway to other worlds. Their destinations seem to be random, but with some practice I'm sure I'll be able to conjure one up that'll always take you to the same place."_

_Bowser gazed intently at the Plot Hole, studying every inch of its shining surface. "You say you found the summoning spell by accident?"_

_Kamek__ bobbed his head. "Indeed. I was trying to figure out a spell that would create clones of our existing Koopas in order to enlarge our ranks."_

_"A clone army?"__ Bowser mused. "Hmm....interesting. Well, what happened?"_

_Kamek__ frowned. "Some joker decided it would be funny if he pulled the ol' switcheroo on me and exchanged my personal spellbook for another one from the library. I didn't discover the switch until I tried the cloning spell and one of these Plot Holes appeared, instead."_

_"Ah, I see." Bowser smiled. "Well, this is certainly an interesting development. How could we use this to our advantage...?" He trailed off at the end, his expression one of deep thought. Kamek privately thought it looked painful for the Koopa King to think that hard._

_"I have an idea," Bowser exclaimed at last. "But it will require time and planning to execute. Kamek," He turned to the Magikoopa, "round up your best mages and have them meet me in the War Room to discuss......strategy."_

_Kamek__ saluted. "Understood. We'll be there in half an hour."_

_"Good. Dismissed."_

_Kamek__ leaped up on his broomstick and flew swiftly out of the room, leaving a thoughtful Bowser gazing at the portal._

_"I've got you now, plumber..." He muttered. _

_--------------------_

"In retrospect, our plan really hadn't been thought out well enough. We had decided to try to use the worlds to our advantage, but first we needed to learn more about them before doing anything else. We dispatched several of our troops into the portals to investigate them….."

_--------------------_

_"Okay mages, listen up." Bowser spoke gruffily to the rows of robed Koopas sitting before him. "It has been several weeks since I first informed the lot of you about Kamek's accidental discovery of the Plot Hole spell. Since then, Kamek has perfected the spell to the point where he can direct where the Hole will take us. Kamek?"_

_The blue-robed Magikoopa stood up and approached the front of the room to stand beside Bowser. "According to my studies," the Magikoopa explained, " the portals can take us to several different places, each one represented by the Hole's color." He pulled out his wand and muttered something under his breath a few moments, before pointing it at the front of the room._

_A shimmering red portal appeared on the spot he'd pointed at. Kamek turned back to the roomful of mages and continued._

_"Red is the color of a Hole that leads to our world. Light Blue would take you to a technological world filled with machinery; green leads to a primitive land still in the Middle Ages, but rich with natural resources; white goes to a bizarre world that randomly changes its shape and the shape of those in it; blue will yield a place ruled not by humans, Toads, or Koopas, but by animals; but as for yellow, orange, and purple, I am uncertain as to where they take you."_

_Bowser spoke up at that point. "Your mission is to learn the Plot Hole spell from Kamek, and use it to explore these new lands for anything that may be useful to us. Do all of you understand this?"_

_Numerous nods and murmurs of agreement answered this question. "Very well," Bowser rumbled, "training will begin tomorrow at six sharp! Dismissed."_

_--------------------_

Kamek hang his head, tone becoming bitter. "…..but sadly, we had no idea that the portal-worlds were so well-guarded."

--------------------

_The tiny electric radio hissed and spat like an overanxious cat, static crackling through its speakers while Kamek twisted the small knob on its top from side to side. Wildly varying pitches yowled out like a death cry before the radio admitted defeat and turned to the correct channel. _

_"---and keep low!" Someone finished yelling as the static cleared. "Those bombs can blow your head clean off if you get too close to one! Alpha team, you take the ridge! I'll cover you!"_

_Faint sounds of gunfire and screams could be heard in the background during this. Someone close to the speaker gurgled, as if underwater, before falling silent. Kamek turned up the volume slightly._

_"General Kain, sir!" Another person's voice wafted up out of the background noise. "They're attacking from the rear! It's a tr--!" BANG. A gunshot echoed through the metallic innards of the radio, and the voice ceased._

_Someone close to the microphone that was relaying the sounds muttered a not-so-civilized curse. "They're on to us! This isn't good!" _

_"Sir!"__ The pounding steps of someone wearing heavy equipment grew louder as someone approached Kain's position. "General," Someone panted, "I came as soon as I heard! Are you all right?"_

_"Kurt, there you are!" Kain exclaimed with relief. "Never mind about me! Listen--our radio's on the blink. It can send but it can't receive. Quick, use your radio to contact the Alpha team, and tell them to get out of there before-"_

_The ear-numbing roar of an explosion ripped through the radio, making Kamek wince._

_"-oh damn." Kain finished the now-useless sentence. "They've brought out the big guns! Kurt, don't bother to radio Alpha-they're beyond help now. Call for backup!"_

_There was a pause, during which the terrified screams and yells seemed to increase in intensity._

_"Kurt?" The first speaker repeated. "Kurt, radio them!"_

_Another pause, longer this time.__ The sharp whistling of a falling object, promptly followed by another explosion. Kamek could hear every quick breath that Kain took as the leader waited for his radio man to confirm his order. _

_"Kurt, for the King's sake!"__ Kain yelled angrily. The sounds of someone getting up and hastily walking trickled through the radio's speakers. "Radio them NOW, before we all--" The sentence stopped with a sharp intake of breath._

_Kamek__ heard Kain release the gasp in a slow sigh, several seconds later. "Oh heck." Kain snarled. "Kurt's gone." There was the sound of someone picking up the microphone that was relaying the sounds. "I think this thing is still sending...hello? Can anybody hear me?" Kain spoke into the radio. "This is squadron Charlie-Beta-Iota, in the Light Blue world. Have suffered severe casualties and require assistance. Mayday, mayday. Repeat, we are under heavy fire and request immediate ba-" Kain's voice was suddenly overwhelmed by a loud roar, and the sounds dissolved into static. _

_Kamek__ slowly turned the radio off, his face grim and ashen._

_Bowser stomped into the room. "Kamek, there you are.  What's going on?" He asked seriously, no hint of humor marring his mood._

_The MagiKoopa glanced briefly up at his boss before letting his empty gaze fall back to the radio, sitting innocent and silent upon the tabletop. _Hey, don't kill the messenger, _it seemed to be saying to him. "We lost the Light Blue squadron." He spoke in a flat monotone._

_Bowser went stiff with surprise and disbelief. "What? Are you sure?"_

_Kamek__ nodded mutely. Bowser swore. "Damn." He snarled, the action twisting his already monstrous features even more. "That makes it...." He paused. "What does that make it?"_

_"Four, sir."__ Was Kamek's deadpan reply. "The Green, Blue, Light Blue and Orange teams."_

_Bowser muttered some rather unkind words toward the defenses of the portal worlds. "Perhaps we should reconsider our strategy." He rumbled. "Too many innocent Koopas are losing their lives here."_

_"What else could we do, sir?" Kamek spoke up, raising his head to lock gazes with the Koopa King. His eyes shimmered with a quiet anger; an anger not directed at Bowser, but at the merciless forces that had killed so many of their men today. "We still don't know what we're dealing with, here. And until we get more information, we never will."  
  
Bowser scratched under his chin with a single claw. "Maybe we should try the indirect approach."_

_Kamek's__ face was as blank as a new sheet of paper. "Indirect approach, sir?"_

_"Instead of just charging in with all weapons drawn, we'll go undercover, in secret." The monstrous turtle elaborated. "Incognito, if you will. It'd keep the defenses from detecting us while we go about our business and explore their territory."_

_Kamek__ began to see where Bowser was going with this. "And since we've already determined that a large force won't work, we'll only send in two or three of our best spies to each world."_

_"That's right." Bowser grinned in satisfaction. "Call the remaining teams and tell them to return to base. I'll go round up some suitable soldiers for this new plan."_

_"Yes, sir."__ Kamek watched as Bowser exited in his usual stomping manner, then switched the radio back on and slowly began to twist the dial on it's top, searching for the right channel...._

_--------------------_

"Our mages used a bit of magic to disguise themselves and some soldiers as inhabitants of the worlds they were entering. Thankfully, this tactic turned out to be quite successful, and no more Koopas died." 

_--------------------_

_"All right, Kamek. Report!"_

_The MagiKoopa bowed. "All the mages and soldiers are present and accounted for, Sir."_

_"Excellent. Did they return with the requested materials?"_

_"Yes, Sir."___

_Bowser clapped his claws together. "Wonderful! Things are going perfectly!"_

_---------------------------------------_

"Wait, wait, wait. Time out for a second." Kirby interrupted Kamek's recap. "What did you mean by 'requested materials'? Did you guys take stuff from our worlds?"

Kamek hesitated before replying. "Yes."

"Well, what did you take?"

"Machine parts and raw minerals, mostly. We found the Star Rod in one dimension. It seemed impossible, seeing as how the Star Rod was still supposed to be in the custody of the Star Spirits, but then I saw it for myself."

Kirby nodded. "Yeah, there's a Star Rod in Dreamland, but it's different from the one you have here. It acts more as a power source and general stabilizer for Dreamland than a wish-granting device."

Kamek suddenly paused. "Wait.....you mean there are TWO Star Rods? They aren't one and the same??"

"That's right. Why'd you bring it up, anyway?"

"I.....er....." Kamek suddenly looked extremely nervous. "Well, it kind of went like this....."

------------------------------------

(A couple days earlier.....)

_How could he tell him?_

_This was the question that plagued Kamek like a horde of locusts as he ran down the stone corridor to Bowser's Throne Room._

_how__? How? HOW?_

_What should he say? He asked himself. How could he sugar-coat this to make it less of a shock?_

_He arrived before the massive, golden arch that was the Throne Room entrance. Kamek paused and stood nervously in front of it, thoughts running furiously._

_What to do, what to do.....?_

_The door slowly opened with the soft creak of hinges. A lone guard stuck his head out and glanced from side to side briefly before finding the MagiKoopa. "Mr. Kamek?"_

_Kamek__ heard the question, but gave the faintest of nods. The guard opened the door all the way and stood to the side of its opening, motioning him inside with a bow.  "You're right on time. King Bowser is waiting for you." _

_Heart pounding in his ears, Kamek swallowed heavily and walked forward past the guard, who dutifully shut the door behind him._

_"Ah, Kamek!__ There you are!" Bowser boomed out from atop his bone-clad throne. "What news have you? Anything interesting brought back from the portals yet?" _

_The MajiKoopa swallowed hard and bowed before speaking. "Well, the Light Blue Plot Hole had a huge amount of potentially usable machinery in it, and the mages brought back some useful parts from there. Nothing of much interest otherwise, except for the two that went through the white portal." _

_"Really?__ What did they find? And stop bowing like that! I prefer to be looked at when talked to."_

_Kamek__ straightened to look Bowser in the eye. "The two who went to the white portal.....believe they've found the Star Rod."_

_Whatever Bowser had been expecting, it wasn't that. "WHAT?!? THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!"_

_"I thought so too, until they showed it to me."_

_"They brought it BACK with them?!?"_

_"Yes, sir."___

_There was a brief pause that seemed to last an eternity to Kamek, during which he waited breathlessly for the King's response._

_The guard outside the throne room door pressed his head up against the wood to catch the conversation occurring inside. Not hearing anything, he opened the door a crack and peeked through it as maniacal, gleeful laughter echoed throughout the Throne Room. The guard blinked in surprise at what he saw, then shut the door quickly and turned to lean up against it, face white with shock and amazement._

_Inside the room, Bowser was happily dancing about like someone who'd won the lottery while Kamek watched and sweatdropped. "IT'S MINE AGAIN AT LAST!"  The Koopa King cheered. With a surge of muscles, he leapt into the air and clicked his heels. "ALL MINE! BWAHAHAHAHA!"_

_Bowser landed with an impact that shook the whole room and left two unsightly craters in the floor. He turned to his Chief MagiKoopa, who was still giving Bowser an odd look. "I tell you, Kamek, I have not felt this happy in a long time!"_

_"Sir, I took the liberty of running some tests on it....." Kamek began, deciding now would be a good time to break the news._

_Bowser didn't catch the note of apprehension in Kamek's voice. "And?"_

_"It seems to have.....changed, somehow."_

_A seed of worry suddenly came out of nowhere and planted itself into Bowser's thoughts. His happiness began to rapidly diminish. "What do you mean?"_

_"I'm not sure how.....perhaps it was affected by being in another world for so long. But now it no longer grants wishes. Instead, it has a seemingly unlimited amount of energy stored inside it."_

_Bowser blinked, disappointed but intrigued at the same time. "Well....can we use this energy for something?"  
  
_

_"It's quite similar to electricity, but slightly altered on the molecular level. I don't think it would be too difficult to use it for powering our machines, though."_

_"Very well, make it so." He paused. "You know, I've always wanted to say that."_

----------------------------------

Kamek trailed off when he noticed that Kirby was no longer listening. The Dreamlander's left eye was rapidly twitching, and his teeth were bared. His pupils flamed with a deadly rage, and Kamek realized with no small amount of fear that it had been focused at him.

"Are you...telling me...you...TOOK...the Star Rod?" He slowly spoke through gritted teeth, pronouncing each syllable separately so as to get their full message across.

"Um..." Dozens of excuses sprang to Kamek's mind, none of which were good enough to use. "...uh...well...that is, to say....er…..yeah?" He answered in a tiny voice.

Mega Man analyzed Kirby's current behavior and estimated a 98.2% chance that the Dreamlander would attack at this point. He was prepared, therefore, to leap forward and hold Kirby back as the pink puffball leapt for Kamek's throat. Kirby instantly began to fight against Mega's grip in a blind rage, furiously yelling to the whole world exactly what he thought about Kamek and his mother.

The MagiKoopa in question had wisely retreated behind a large rock outcropping to escape Kirby's wrath. "Eeep!" He squeaked, vivid images of him being piledrived into the ground flashing through his mind.

"So THAT'S why Dreamland is so messed up!" Mario realized, seemingly oblivious to the events taking place around him. "It's because the Star Rod's gone, isn't it?"

"I'm so confused." Peach sighed. "Mario, what are you talking about?"

"I'll tell you later." Mario promised. "What happened after that, Kamek?"

The Koopa peeked out slowly from behind the large rock where he'd hid. Seeing that Kirby was still firmly grasped in Mega man's grip, he relaxed ever-so-slightly, although he remained behind the rock nonetheless. "Well...by this time, we'd found a problem; it took a lot of energy to cast the Plot Hole spell, and even more to keep one open for very long. Before we knew it, our mages were completely exhausted from the effort and couldn't help us any more unless they rested and regained their strength. We needed to find some alternative energy source to power the portals, and fast….."

----------------------------------

_"Well Kamek, give me your opinion. How long do you estimate it shall take to build?"_

_Kamek__ straightened back up from the half-bow he'd sunken into and cupped his chin in one hand, thinking. "Well, at the required size.....months, sir. At the least."_

_Bowser sobered up a little. "I expected such. Very well, tell the mechanics they have half a year to work with. That should be enough time, don't you agree?"_

_"Yes, Sir."_

_"Good. By the way, how's Kammy?"_

_Kamek__ perked up visibly. "Well, we're still trying to decide on a date, but she's already picked out a dress. Said it's been in her family for ages."_

_"What about you? Have you chosen the ring?"_

_"Oh, it's beautiful, Sir. Solid gold, and studded with diamonds."_

_"She'll be impressed, then."_

_"If you don't mind, Sir.....I was wondering if you could be the Best Man."_

_Bowser grinned widely. "My dear Kamek, I would be honored. You can be dismissed, and I wish you both the best of luck."_

_"Thank you, Sir."_

_--------------------_

Mario was staring in open shock. "You and Kammy? Together?!" He blurted out.

Kamek blushed. "Well, yeah!" His eyes narrowed dangerously. "What's so surprising about it?"

"Well…..it's just that…..I mean, aren't you two a bit, well…...OLD to be getting married?"

"Love cares not how old you are, it comes, stays and leaves just the same." Mega Man quoted. 

Kamek looked righteously furious. "How DARE you accuse ME of being old!" He raged. "Why I oughta….."

"Just calm down and tell us what happened next!" Daisy burst out, startling Kamek into silence and sapping the anger out of him.

"But I…..oh, all right." He growled, with an angry scowl in Mario's direction.

--------------------

_"Look at it." Bowser grinned. "It's incredible, isn't it?"_

_Kamek__ glanced sideways at his King for a moment before returning his gaze to the massive Plot Hole Power Generator in front of them. _

_Taking up the entire wall of the massive room they were in, it ballooned out at the ends like an hourglass. The tube in its middle shimmered and swam with all the colors of the visible light spectrum, making it appear to be white from a distance. Far too many wires to count ran into and out of the bottom and top portions, ending in the walls and ceiling. In the very center of the tube, invisible amidst all the colors, hovered the Star Rod._

_Just minutes ago, it had been activated. Kamek had to admit that the mystifying colors of its tube were pretty, in a way. "Yes."_

_"I still can't believe the mages we sent into the White portal actually found and brought back the Star Rod." Bowser continued._

_Kamek__ scratched his head underneath the pointed hat he always wore. "It was a definite surprise, all right." He agreed._

_"So, tell me again; what does it do?"_

_Kamek__ unconsciously rolled his eyes. This was probably the fourth time he'd had to explain this. "It can create portals to the different worlds, by using the power of the Star Rod as an energy source. A supply of electricity is stored in our backup batteries throughout the worlds--" He pointed across the room at a row of large, black cylinders hooked up to the generator via wire-"in case the Star Rod's power ever fails for any reason." Kamek stood up straighter and clasped his hands behind his back. "I also hooked it up to the castle's power supply through the batteries we've got here, so it'll give us power for our electric devices as well."_

_"Brilliant." Bowser marveled. "Now we won't need to be so dependent on thunderstorms for electricity."_

_"Yes. Should I order the lightning rods on the roof to be dismantled?"_

_"No, leave them up. In fact, connect them to the batteries--it's been a while since those things have had a recharge."_

_Kamek__ saluted smartly. "Consider it done, sir. Anything else?"_

_Bowser stroked his chin thoughtfully for a moment, and Kamek had to fight the urge to laugh at the corniness of it all. "Yes. I'd like to show you an experiment my son Ludwig performed with a new invention of his…..could you meet me up in the Keep within the next two hours?"_

_"Of course, Sir."__  
  
_

_"Excellent. That is all, then."_

--------------------

"Well, that's all lovely and everything," Daisy butted in, "but it doesn't explain what just happened to the castle!"

"I was getting to that." Kamek nodded. "See, there were some unforeseen side-effects to the building of the Generator-"

"Like what?" Peach blurted, covering her mouth afterwards sheepishly. "Sorry."

 "S'all right. To answer your question, the main side effect was the appearances of random portals that we didn't create."

"WHAT?!" Kirby screeched, slipping out of Mega man's arms at last. His mood had suddenly changed from angry to frightened in an instant. "Do you realize what that means?!" He demanded, eyes suddenly wide. "You've doomed us all, you idiots!"

Kamek was taken aback. "What are you talking about?"

"Yeah Kirby, could you let us in on the secret so the rest of us can all wet our pants, too?" Mega Man quipped, arching an inquisitive eyebrow.

Kirby seemed about to hyperventilate with terror, looking like he wanted to do three things at once. "…..you haven't figured it out?!"

"The only thing I've figured out is that you need to cool off a bit." The azure robot replied. "C'mon, it can't be _that _bad, can it?"

Kirby gave an audible glup. "Yes, it can." He whispered. 

Mega Man raised his other eyebrow to join the first as Kirby struggled to calm himself down to a semi-normal level again. "Okay, it's like this. Our worlds are generally kept apart by a series of invisible walls. Every world has a different wall that keeps it apart from another specific world. You can't see them or feel them, but they exist just the same. Every time someone like him--" Kirby jabbed an arm at Kamek-"Creates a portal, it's the equivalent to punching a hole through a wall between two worlds."

Mario, Mega Man and the princesses slowly nodded. "Okay, making sense so far." Mario agreed. "Keep going."

"Now, when someone puts too many holes in these walls, they do the same thing any wall would."

Several pairs of eyes grew wide. Princess Peach spoke apprehensively as what Kirby was implying began to dawn on her. "They collapse?"

Kirby nodded. "That's right. The random portals are a sign of the walls' instability. It means the barriers are already starting to break down."

"I'm sorry, but I still don't see the problem with all this." Daisy declared, shrugging noncommitably. "So what if the walls collapse? What happens then?"

Kirby stared hard at her. "Well, one of two things will happen." He answered slowly. "The first outcome is that all the worlds might combine, resulting in a single conglomeration containing a little bit of each world's characteristics, properties and inhabitants. This wouldn't be a good thing, though, because it would erase mass portions of each world in the process and leave only a small percentage behind."

"Which is something we definitely don't want, because there won't be any way to control what stays and what gets zapped." Mega Man concluded.

"Exactly." Kirby agreed.

"Okay, so what's the second possibility?" Mario asked tentatively.

Kirby went quiet. After a couple moments his solemn reply came: "The second possibility…..is that all the worlds will instantly cease to exist." He looked up at them. 

Like a switch had been flipped, the area had gone quiet as a tomb.

"Armageddon." Mega Man exhaled in a whisper. Peach and Daisy exchanged a startled glance. The gravity of the situation had finally been revealed to them all, and it wasn't a welcome change. 

Mario cast a glance around at the expressions of those present: They ranged from shocked, to frightened, to angry, mirroring all the emotions he himself felt. _Is this really happening? _He wondered to himself. _Is this it? The end of everything?_

"This is insane." Kamek spoke up quietly. "I had no idea building the machine would cause such a drastic outcome. We must prevent this from happening."

"I agree," Mega Man stepped forward, face paler than usual. "Kirby, is there any way we can keep the walls from collapsing?"

The pink puffball shook his head sadly. "My home dimension of Dreamland is the only one that doesn't have any walls restraining it. Consequently, it's something of a crossroads between all the dimensions, acting as a sort of central governing force and keeping each world safe from the others."

"Let me guess. The Star Rod keeps things running smoothly there?" Mario hazarded.

Kirby nodded glumly. "Yup. Without it, the walls are dangerously weak, which is the reason they're starting to collapse at all. If we can retrieve the Rod and put it back where it belongs in Dreamland, things should stabilize again…..but from what Kamek has told us, it was one of the main components of their generator machine, which means its disappeared along with the castle to who-knows-where." 

"So, it's hopeless?" Peach asked weakly.

"No, it's not!" Kamek exclaimed, hope suddenly brimming within him. "I know where the castle has gone!"

That got everyone's attention. "What? You do?!" Kirby exclaimed.

The MajiKoopa nodded fervently. "It was a security measure I built into the generator in case the castle was ever attacked, and I'm guessing the power outage triggered a chain reaction that activated it. The machine was to create a giant portal around the castle that would transfer it elsewhere until things were safe again."

"Well, where did it go?" Mario asked eagerly.

Kamek shifted his glasses up farther onto his beak. "It was a location I'd only recently discovered, outside of the portal worlds entirely--"

"WHAT?!" Kirby shrieked again. "You sent it to _Earth?_ Are you mad?!"

"Earth?" Mario asked quizzically. "What's--"

"Its supposedly the place that created our worlds. You can't send Koopa Castle there!" He exclaimed fiercely.

"Why not?"

"Because it'd cause mass hysteria, probably." Mega Man pointed out. "How'd you react if you woke up one morning and found a castle on your front lawn?"

"Yes, but there's more to it than that." Kirby continued. "The people on Earth think we don't exist!"

"Right, that does it. Somebody get me a compass, 'cause I'm lost." Daisy threw her hands up into the air exasperatedly. "How'd they supposedly 'create' us if they don't think we're real?"

"They created us indirectly, through thought. Ya see, the humans of Earth have some remarkable psychic powers innate to their race. By merely imagining us and our homelands in their minds, they unknowingly altered time and space enough to create our worlds."

"Psychic mind powers?" Mario scratched his scalp thoughtfully. "You know, that sounds really familiar….."

"How do you know all of this?" Peach asked curiously.

Kirby shrugged uncomfortably. "Remember me telling you how Dreamland has no dimensional walls? Well, that includes any walls that separate us from the Outside. Anyone who lives there has potential access to the knowledge of all worlds, even Earth."

"Sounds like a pretty neat place." Daisy commented. Kirby's face darkened briefly.

"Not necessarily." He replied. "Believe me, there are some things about the universe that you'd be better off not knowing. I myself have had a tough time trying to forget some of it." The ominous note in his voice silenced any argument the princess might have made.

"We'll take your word for it," Mario conceded as he glanced behind them at the barren hill that once housed Bowser's Castle. "Is there any way for us to reach Earth from here?"

"Yes, but it wouldn't help us any. The Earthlings don't think we exist, remember? If we go there, think of what it'll do to their psyches. You don't want to mess with their minds, especially since their mental powers can affect our worlds so much. We'd do more harm than good."

"Well, there must be _something _we can do!" Kamek cried out. "We just can't stand by and let this happen!"

"It doesn't look like we have any choice." Mega Man agreed. "Somebody will have to go to Earth, whether the humans there like it or not." He pressed a hidden button on his wrist, changing out of his Battle uniform and into casual clothing in a flash of light. "I look the most human out of us all, so I'll go."

"But what about the rest of us?" Mario demanded indignantly. "I _refuse_ to just wait here and do nothing when the fate of the universe is at stake!"

"I've got jobs for you guys, too." Kamek spoke. "Even if Mega Man gets to Earth somehow and manages to locate the castle, he won't be able to enter it. I programmed an impenetrable force field to activate when the castle warped, to keep anyone from invading it. The downside is that no portals can open inside of the field, as it partially negates some of the Generator's power."

Peach rolled her eyes. "Always the paranoid one, eh Kamek?"

"Hey, I had to have SOME way of making sure no Earthlings decided it'd be nice to blow us up while we were on their planet!"

Mario quietly massaged his temples, trying to comprehend everything that had been told to him. "Okay…..so how do we deactivate this field?" He asked.

Kamek sighed. "I tried to make the process pretty complex to keep just anyone from turning it off, although I assure you I'm kicking myself for it right now. We hid a separate power source for the field in each of the portal worlds, so that if one was destroyed then the backups could fuel it instead. To destroy the field, all of the batteries powering it must be eliminated, one by one."

"Lovely." Daisy muttered sarcastically. "So you're suggesting we go on a world-hopping trip."

Kamek shook his head. "There's not enough time for all of us to go to each world-we'll have to split up." ("Even better," Daisy growled.) "Mega Man, you'll have to go take out the one in your world before you head for Earth. Kirby, I assume, can take care of Dreamland's battery. Mario, could you take the princesses home and remove the one in the Green portal-world? I'll see about getting Kapi to help, although I'm not sure she'll want to leave the King right now….."

"Leave her be, we'll go in her place." Peach broke in. "There's no way you guys are just gonna leave us behind like little children," she continued before Mario could open his mouth to protest. "This is as much our fight as it is yours." 

Daisy nodded, agreeing with her cousin's words. "It's true. You guys will need all the help you can get."

"Fine." Kamek snapped. "Get yourselves killed, see what I care. Daisy can go to the Dark Blue world. Peach, you can take care of the one in Mushroom Kingdom. I'll try to let our troops know you're all coming beforehand so they won't perceive you to be a threat and treat you like one. Okay?"

Each person nodded silently. "Okay. Since we're out of range of the Portal Generator, I'll have to transport you guys instead. But once you're in the worlds, you'll be on your own; my magic isn't strong enough to reach you there, and it'll be taxing enough on me just to send you that far." 

"Whatever, just send us there. Time is of the essence." A deep, rumbling voice spoke from behind Kamek. He whirled around with a gasp, nearly fainting when he spotted the massive form that had been shielded from view behind the rock where he'd hid. "King Bowser!"

The Koopa king stomped into view of the others, who couldn't help noticing how red his eyes were. "That's me, all right." He bobbed his head a knowledgably.

"How long were you standing there?!" Kamek's voice took on a more worried note. "And are you all right?"

"Long enough, and I'll be fine. I realized that I shouldn't really have a reason to be sad--if what you say is true, my children will be quite safe until we get them back. But anyway, back to the subject at hand; I notice you've forgotten about some of the worlds, Kamek. Kapi volunteered to enter the yellow world, so I'll travel to the orange one."

Worry etched into Kamek's complexion. "Sir…..please…..you mustn't put yourself in danger so--"

"I can and I will. Peach was right; it is as much my fight as yours. Hurry and open the portals, Kamek. That's an order!"

Kamek slumped in defeat. "Aw, I hate it when you pull rank like that…..fine, all right." He pointed his wand behind him at a flat expanse of open plain. Several colored portals began to appear as he began chanting an archaic tongue. As each one grew in size, Kamek's strength began to rapidly diminish.

"Go!" He finally gasped out as the portals burst into full size, the orange one extra-large to accommodate Bowser's huge frame. Immediately he began to weaken even more under the added stress of keeping them that way. "Hurry!" He panted,  visibly straining. "I…..I can't hold them open for very long….." 

There was no time for any farewells. With one last glance at each other, the members of the group leaped forward into dazzling colored light.

--------------------

**Stoney****:** So now, it begins.

This chapter marks a major turning point in _The Crossover Saga_. We have finally entered the higher conflict of that plot I referred to earlier. Things are going to pick up the pace a bit from here on in, meaning more action and less dialouge than before.

If ever there was a time to request an appearance of a video-game character, now is it. Soon it'll be too late to put any more in, as I'm already planning out the future chapters in my head. E-mail me your request if you have one, and I'll work on adding them to the story. Wait to do so.....and well, you'll just have to forever hold your peace. 

Oh, and before Yoshiman sends me a hundred e-mails demanding Final Fantasy characters, let me inform you that there will be an upcoming chapter devoted entirely to various RPG's. (No, I'm not going to tell you which ones. Sorry.)

As a side note, no, I am NOT trying to rip off Anthony Bault. This story had already been brewing in my head LONG before I ever read his 'Heroes of Arcadia' series, and it's just a coincidence that both of them involve psychic humans. Just so we're clear.

SHAMELESS CRY FOR HELP: I'm in need of a good editor or two to review my chapters before I post them and suggest changes, so I don't look like a total klutz because of a spelling error or something. If you're willing to accept the job (and are capable of making positive criticism) then please let me know!

**Pikachu: **Cha! Pikacha ka pika?! Pakachu chiu kichu aca kaka!! {Hey! Where the heck am I?! I haven't seen any page space since chapter 9!!}

**Luigi: **And when am I going to join up with the others? I wanna save the universe, too! 

**Link:** Yeah, walking through unknown corridors like this is starting to get really boring.

**Stoney****:** Be patient, you guys. I haven't forgotten about you, don't worry.

**Sigma:** It's not nice to leave someone stranded in a shut-off computer for so long, you know.

**Stoney****:** Oh, shut up. Take it like a Reploid.

**Malon****:** _[singing] _I'm all aloooooone.....there's no one heeeeeere besiiiiiide meeeeee.....

**Stoney****:** Aw, come on! Give me a break, willya?!

**Black Mage:** Nope, that's not possible. Shinkuu.....HADOKEN!

**Stoney****:** AIIIIEEE! _[flees for his life, chased by a fireball the size of Alaska]_


	14. Chapter Thirteen: World Tour, Part One

The Crossover Saga (A fanfiction by Stoney, in case you didn't already know) **Stoney: **[Collapses from exhaustion] Blarg…has it really been over a year already? I can't believe how long I've been writing this monster of a story, now…you guys are probably all fed up with my erratic schedule, aren't you? 

Well, this chapter is massive, even for me. It has literally taken up every spare moment of my time lately, since I knew that some readers would be crazy enough to mob my house or something to get me to finish this….no, wait, none of you know where I live. I forgot about that. Hmm, posting on the 'net has its advantages….

I'd like to thank everybody who's stuck with me through this mess. Sadly, the story's drawing to a close, and blah blah blah. I'll spare you the usual speech about 'it's been fun' and 'all good things must end', 'cause we already know all about that shmosh anyway.

My letter-opening section now has a name! Henceforth, it shall be known as 'Going Postal'. I'll be updating the earlier chapters with this improvement, as well. Some of you (actually, only one of you, but who's counting?) complained last chapter about the length of Going Postal, and I sympathize. I know it's frustrating for you to wait so long for the next chapter, only to find out that half of it isn't even the chapter at all—and I admit I went a bit too crazy last time, what with the role-playing and everything. So I'll try to make that section bit smaller in proportion to the chapter itself in the future.

The earlier chapters will be receiving various makeovers in the future when I get around to doing them. So far, I've already re-posted Chapter Five (Food Chain) with more scenes and other fun stuffs. Check it out if you want.

Due to popular request, there shall be various guest appearances in this chapter. Bet that gets you all excited, doesn't it? [smiles]

In the near future, there will be a new story whose events coincide with this one, and will tell the trials and tribulations of the SEGA characters in greater detail. Keep an eye out for it.

Oh, and here's a random question for you to ponder deeply: I mean what I mean, but if I don't know what I mean, how can you mean what I mean, y'know what I mean?

* * * * * Chapter XIII World Tour, Part One * * * * * 

Two eyes.

Yellow eyes.

Fiendish. Menacing. Evil in its basest form. Misery and other nasty stuff, condensed and packed so tight that it could easily explode at a second's notice. That, was the essence of his character.

They say the eyes are the windows to the soul. But if that was true, he thought, then it would explain why nobody has ever managed to make complete eye contact with him before. His face was hidden in shadows, it's native element, where he always felt most comfortable—and where people didn't go into seizures whenever they saw his face.

Because yes, it is true, he really WAS that ugly.

And yes, it is true, he DID have the guts to admit it. Unlike other people he knew.

He turned around, robe billowing slightly for effect. He loved his robe. It made him feel so evil and classy, like Darth Vader. In fact, the only things he considered truly precious to him in his greedy, selfish, black pit of a heart were his hat, his robe, and his spells.

Yes. His spells…his pride and joy. The one thing that set him apart from the rest of the insects in this pitiful little world. The characteristic that made him…_him_.

"Hey, BM!" A cheerful, brainless voice that reminded him closely of an idiot surfer he'd met once, drifted over. "Look, look! Watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat!"

The speaker was clad in more metal than a robot, waving a sword wildly about with the hand he was using to get BM's attention. "Hey, BM! Over here!" He yipped, more excited than a 10-year-old on a sugar high.

"I see you already, you idiot." BM snapped. "And what are you talking about? What hat?"

The armored man paused his waving, lowered his arms, and cluelessly scratched his bushy red hair. "Huh?"

"The hat! The one you just told me about! Where is i….oh, never mind." The black magician finally gave up, turning back to his walking after giving the man a look of disgust and deepest loathing.

BM, also known as Black Mage, _hated_ idiots. In fact, he hated a lot of things. He hated the fact that he wasn't ruler of Earth by now. He hated the three other morons that had somehow conned him into traveling with them. He hated himself for being careless enough to get conned. He hated every single city villager he passed by, because they always said the same sentences to you, no matter how many times you spoke to them.

He also hated the sky, because the sun never, EVER set--until he and the group checked into an Inn, that is. This was a fact he found extremely unsettling, of course, but didn't really care enough to do anything about. 

He also hated the forest imp they'd run into several miles back, because it had dropped several valuable spell components—which of course had been confiscated along with all the other stuff the enemy had dropped for unknown reasons, by the party's contractual 'leader'.

He sent glares of pure hatred at this leader now. Everyone called him Thief, because that was what the guy was—a thief. Pickpocket, robber, burglar, and a hundred other words could have also been used, he supposed, but somehow 'Thief' seemed to fit the man best.

He was of Elven race—and still wore Elven-style clothing, so this fact was pretty damn obvious. Cerulean hair tousled above a well-tanned face, long slender ears nearly hidden within their locks. He wore plain brown leather for his armor, because he was so fast that it didn't matter what his defense was like; the enemy would still miss him, every time.

And Black Mage admittedly held a sort of begrudging respect for this Thief, because the guy was good at what he did. 

REAL good. 

Hell, Thief could steal the actual clothes off of any man or woman without him or her noticing—he was just THAT good.

Hmmm…steal the clothes off of a woman….Black Mage grinned sinisterly, although the expression was completely hidden. Maybe, if he paid Thief enough, then the guy could lend some of his…services. For it was true that one female had captivated BM's heart, and he certainly wouldn't mind if Thief did that to her….

"Excuse me, but I do believe I just heard some profitable thoughts coming from this direction." It was Thief, flashing has charming award-winning smile that he always used to persuade anyone into buying anything from him. The guy was a real smooth-talker, better than a lawyer or even a car salesman. His eyes never revealed anything, always darting from place to place unless he wanted someone to think he was telling the truth. In those cases, he stared a person straight into the eyes, like he did now. "Please let me remind you that I would be most happy to perform any menial tasks that require doing, if there is some sort of…..shall we say…..'compensation' for the done deed."

Black Mage gave a noncommittal grunt that didn't phase Thief in the least. The Elf was far too confident and clever for that. He gave another smile full to bursting with good-natured charm. "Perhaps you would like a particular item to be….obtained?" He made a show of looking like he was thinking hard. "I could probably be able to find some….._pre-used_ clothing for you."

Behind them, the red-armored redhead blinked in confusion. "Huh? Why would you need more clothes, BM? Did you run out of robes or something?"

Black Mage clenched his fists and eyes shut so tight it hurt. _Must…keep…control…must…not…kill…morons…must…use…for…ulterior…motives…_

"I could probably find some type of garments for you." Thief assured him. "Such as…oh, I don't know…women's clothing?"

Black Mage stopped walking and turned to glare fully at his companion. "Now, cut that out!"

"Perhaps something more specific….maybe long hooded robes with red trim?"

"Stop it!" 

"Robes belonging to a specific type of person, like, say, a Wizard of the Healing Arts?"

"I swear to Khaos, that if you utter one more word I will go STAB-CRAZY with my ever lovin' KNIFE in your BACK! GOT IT?"

"A wizard such as, our off-and-on traveling companion White Mage, perhaps?"

"RIGHT! That does it!" BM roared, reaching into his pocket to pull out—

--nothing. His fist closed on empty air.

"Lost something?" Thief grinned, holding up a long, slender dagger with a well-kept blade. "Quite good taste in weaponry, if I do say so myself, although I would prefer something with a little more weight to it—"

"Give. It. Back." BM snarled, his patience running on nothing more than mere fumes. "NOW."

"—but I suppose that, if given enough time, one may get used to such a design--"

"_FINE!!_ EAT ELECTRIC DEATH, YOU BASTARD!"

A moment of charging, as BM spoke unholy incantations, summoning forth all that is nasty and bad from the fiery depths of Hades itself. His eyes opened to reveal pupils wreathed in flame.

"BOLT 3!!"

A massive strike of electricity perfectly nailed the spot where Thief stood—

--except that the elf wasn't there, but instead was in front of the red-armored man that had spoken earlier, twirling his sword around playfully. "Don't mind if I borrow this a sec, do you Fighter? I'll be quick." Before an objection could be made, he was gone again, running too fast to be seen.

"OW!" Black Mage grunted as something cold, hard and flat collided with the back of his skull, throwing him to the ground. Thief stood triumphantly above him, Fighter's sword still cocked in the position where he'd swung it. "There we go." The Elf Prince snickered. "Come now, Black Mage, surely you haven't forgotten our contract? Article III, Paragraph XII clearly states that you are not to, under any circumstances, attack me. Unless of course, I'm being possessed, in which case you may only attack hard enough to free my mind, and not to maim or injure my person."

Black Mage let out a guttural growl, gloved fists clenching.

"HEY! What happened to my sword?" Fighter yelped, finally noticing that his beloved weapon was missing. He looked up at the other two, and his eyes widened in excitement. "Ooooh, Thief! Where'd you get that cool-lookin' blade from?" He asked while running over. "Cool, it looks just like mine does!"

"It _is_ yours, IDIOT!" BM roared as he sat up, dusting dirt and grit from his robes. "Thief, stop that mind-reading psycho crap. I've had just about enough of it. Fighter, just stop. Period. Got it?"

"Er, nope." Fighter grinned, in a confused sort of way. "You kind of lost me at the 'mind-reading' part."

Thankfully, Fighter was saved from a rather messy death by the party's fourth member, clad in crimson robes and a long red fedora. A white feather stuck out of the fedora's brim, matching the snowy long hair that flowed down from underneath it. The eyes revealed under the brim were crafty, carefully viewing everything as if to record each tiny detail within. "Will you three hurry up?!" He demanded. "How will we ever get the sub-quest EXP at this rate??"

Black Mage's eyes glittered with malice. "Why don't you just take your EXP, and shove it up--"

"An excellent idea, Black Mage!" Thief interrupted. "We'll get going right now, and no more breaks until we get this job done and are paid for it! Come on, up you go!" And with that, the elf nearly dislocated BM's shoulders while roughly hauling him to his feet.

People miles away could hear the stream of loud obscenities the black magician employed at that moment.

* * * * *

Knowledge is Power (The Yellow World) 

Part One

* * * * *

Kapi was filled with a brief tingling, hazy sensation as she entered the portal and was immersed in intense golden light. A wave of dizziness overcame her, and suddenly her insides flip-flopped as she found herself flying forwards with no way to stop. 

She had only half a second to see the ground speeding towards her before she hit it face first, splattering dirt and mud all across her features. She sat up, gagging and coughing up some of the brown slime that had entered her mouth. "Ow," She whined when she was able to speak again, glaring angrily up at the reddish portal that had opened in midair. Stupid thing had dumped her out of it while it was facing downwards.

The portal closed with a definitive whoosh of air. She stood up and futilely tried to wipe the mud off, finally giving up and looking around at her environment.

It was a brightly lit forest, filled with various indigenous trees that stood tall above her, their arms curving upwards to form an almost interlocking ceiling of branches and leaves. She shaded her eyes with one arm and continued to look up. It seemed to be around midday, judging by what she could see of the sun's high position through the canopy above her. 

Any further thinking on her part was suddenly interrupted when a shout (a _human _shout, she noticed) came from behind her. "Oh wow, Red! Look at that!"

She swerved around to size up her attacker and was startled to see two young kids of around 11 years old staring excitedly at her. One wore a red-and-white baseball cap adorned with some logo Kapi was unfamiliar with over a mess of black hair; he wore lime-green fingerless gloves, blue jeans, and a white/blue jacket over a jet black T-shirt. The other was a slightly taller girl with spiky red hair that had been done up into a single bunch near the back. Black suspenders were strapped snugly over her yellow sleeveless shirt and held up her short jeans perfectly, showing off her slender legs.

She blinked at them. What an odd couple they were.

"Quick, Red! What does Dexter know about it?" The red-haired girl exclaimed, tapping the boy's shoulder excitedly. "Maybe it's a new species!"

The boy arched an eyebrow and brought out a palm-sized microcomputer, painted a flaring fire truck red. "Misty, _please _don't call me that!" He pleaded; opening the computer like one would a book. "How many times do I have to ask you before you use my real name?" He pointed the head of the computer at Kapi before any more could be said on the matter. "Dex, identify."

To Kapi's astonishment, the computer made several beeping noises before it actually _spoke_. "No known data found on subject. 98.01% chance of new species discovery."

"I knew it!" Misty clapped her hands gleefully. "Let me catch it, Red! _Please?_"

"No way!" 'Red' laughed, unclipping a colored ball from a belt around his waist. "This one's mine!"

Kapi sweat-dropped, wondering what the heck these two were babbling about. The ball that Red held was metallic; painted crimson on one half and white on the other. On one side, in the middle of where the two colors met, was a single button. Red pressed this button as he hurled the ball in her direction with a yell. "Pokèball go!"

The ball hurtled towards her, slowly opening to reveal a blinding white light. Kapi's spear was off her back and in her hands in one fluid motion. Without so much as a blink of hesitation she swung it like a baseball bat, slapping the ball out of the air before it even got near her. 

Misty snorted with laughter and Red growled, seething as the ball bounced once on the ground and vanished into the woods without a trace. "Tough luck Red. This one carries a weapon, like a Farfetch'd."

"Dangit! I paid a fortune for that Great Ball!" Red tantrumed, nearly hopping with rage. "Fine! We'll do this the hard way! Pikachu, SIC 'ER!"

Kapi's eyes widened slightly. _Pikachu…..why does that name sound so familiar? _ 

A yellow mouse bounded forward from where it had been hidden behind Red's shoes, electricity cracking from its cheeks. Kapi's eyes widened even more as she saw a faint flicker of purplish light flash from its dark eyes. 

* * * * *

_"Pikachu?" Kapi blinked, raising one eyebrow in interest."Who's that?"___

_"Oh, we never told you about him?" Mario glanced up, surprised. "He's a large, yellow mouse that can shoot electricity from two red pouches in his cheeks." ___

_"He's part of the species __Pokèmon__, and wound up in Dreamland by sleeping." Kirby added. "He can't speak English; the only thing he can say is his name, although I can still understand him 'cause I'm so familiar with his kind."___

_Kapi was genuinely curious by now, turning to fully face the two. "Really? What happened to him?"___

_Mario frowned, as if remembering something unpleasant. "He got possessed by Dark Matter before we got here." The plumber replied shortly, waving a hand in the direction of the tunnel. "Now he's just like you were before we freed you."_

* * * * *

Kapi blinked wordlessly as the memory washed over her. So THIS was the Pikachu they'd been talking about.

The purplish light flashed from Pikachu's eyes again, and Kapi frowned. _He must still be under Dark Matter's control, _she realized.Pikachu grinned evilly at her, rubbing its cheeks as voltage began building within them. She narrowed her eyes. _But, why did Dark Matter make it come back here? ___

Before she could think of an answer, Pikachu sent a blazing yellow arc of electricity in her direction. "Pika-CHUU!"

Kapi yelped and threw all of her weight into a frantic dodge off to the side. The bolt missed her by inches, sizzling the air near her scales as it passed. "Hey, knock it off!" She finally growled, struggling back to her feet again.

Both Misty and Red froze when they heard her speak. "Misty!" Red gasped. "Did you, uh, just hear the same thing I did?"

She nodded. "Y-yeah. It-t talked, and I-I understood what it said!"

Red's face suddenly lit up like a sunbeam. "I've never heard of a Pokèmon that could speak human languages, before! This is DEFINITELY a new species!" He cheered, excitement shining in his pupils. "I'm gonna catch it for sure, now!"

"What are you talking about?!" Kapi exclaimed, waving her spear in the air menacingly to ward off another attempt at attack. "I have no idea what you mean by 'Pokèmon', but I know I'm not one of them! My name is Kapi, and I'm a Koopa from the Mushroom Kingdom!"

Misty and Red looked puzzled. 

"Mushroom Kingdom?" Red blinked, scratching the back of his neck thoughtfully before shaking his head. "Never heard of it."

"Sounds made-up if you ask me." Misty agreed, eyes narrowed in suspicion. "I think you're just trying to get out of being caught."

Pikachu, however, had an entirely different reaction. His eyes flared as the Dark Matter possessing him recognized that name. It had been to the Mushroom Kingdom before. It peered closer at Kapi. In fact, she seemed rather familiar…..

* * * * *

_"Stay BACK, DAMNIT!" Kapi roared, whirling in a circle as she brought her fists to bare against the attackers that had surrounded her. Her spear lay abandoned and useless beyond them, leaving her unarmed save for her limbs and strength. "I'm warning you!" She growled, struggling to swallow her fear. "D-don't you touch me!"___

_Karl grinned lifelessly from within the attackers' ranks, purplish light flashing from his eyes. "Oh come on, Kapi. It's not that bad once you get used to it. It won't hurt, we promise."___

_"NO!" Kapi screamed, clutching the sides of her head. "NO! SHUT UP, SHUT UP, DAMN YOU!"___

_The friendliness left Karl's voice. "It's over, Kapi. You'll join us. Now."___

_Kapi screamed long and loud, as she felt the entirely alien presence of Dark Matter fill her, blocking out her thoughts, suppressing her free will, tossing her into black unconsciousness….._

* * * * *

Pikachu snapped out of the memory and stumbled back a couple steps. HER! The one who'd escaped it in Mushroom Kingdom with the help of that miserable pink Dreamlander! It's surprise turned to rage in a microsecond. It growled. Very loudly. "Piiiiikaaaa….."

Red and Misty turned their attention to the Pokèmon in front of them, which was practically frothing at the mouth with rabid fury. 

"Uh, Pikachu? Are you okay?" Red asked out of concern for his miniscule friend. "Is something wrong?" 

Pikachu didn't reply, but suddenly leaped with a frightful roar at Kapi, aiming for her throat. "…..CHUUU!"

_Dark Matter remembers me!_ The she-Koopa thought with distain, blocking the wild charge with a low swipe of her spear and leaping backwards to put some room between them. Microseconds later an arc of electricity turned her previous location to cinders. Pikachu snarled, readying another bolt. 

By now, Red was becoming frantic. "Pikachu! What are you _doing?!_" He yelled, shocked at his pet's behavior.

Misty was more calm about the situation. "Hey Ash, it's okay." She understood, turning to reassure her friend. "He's just helping us catch this whatever-it-is. Obviously, we've got to tire it out before it'll let itself be caught!"

He sideyed her, distracted for a moment by her sentence. "That's tru--hey, waitaminute! You used my real name!"

She blinked at him in confusion, then frowned, realizing her error. "Well, don't expect me to make a habit out of it," She grumbled as she unhooked one of her own Pokèballs from her jeans belt. She tossed it onto the battlefield with a throw that would have made a pitcher weep. "Staryu, I CHOOSE YOU!"

Out of the ball burst a large brown starfish, with a gleaming red jewel in its middle that was surrounded by yellow protective plating. Despite not having a visible mouth, it let out a wild cheer as it turned to Misty for instructions. "Hiyah!"

Misty pointed at Kapi, who was barely avoiding being fried by repeated electric discharges while trying to keep an eye on her, Ash, and Pikachu at the same time. "Staryu, use your Special Beam Cannon to slow it down!"

Ash did a double take. "Huh? Special Beam WHAT?!"

Misty smiled mysteriously. "It's a new technique I taught her, Red. Just chill out." She crossed her arms and leaned against a tree to watch as Staryu lifted up into the air, its jewel glowing ominously.

Across the clearing, Kapi grimaced. She'd been backed up against a tree by Pikachu's volts as she desperately tried to block them with her non-conductive wood spear. "Oh man, not good…"

Finally, Kapi made the mistake of touching her spear's pointed, metal head during one of Pikachu's attacks. Although the wooden length of the spear did not conduct electricity, the head sure did. Kapi got quite a literal shock as the spear basically exploded out of her hand with a sharp crackle.

"Eee-YOW!" She yelped, hopping from foot to foot and cradling her badly-burnt hand as tears sprang to her eyes. "Argh! Owowowowow!" The hand was still smoking as Kapi watched, every nerve of it not burned to nothing sending her all the pain signals they could muster.

"Yahay…"

She glanced up, pained tears blurring her vision. "What in the world…?"

"_Hahay_…"

The Staryu, floating next to Pikachu five feet away, was glowing blindingly bright as massive waves of energy built up within its jewel. Two of its arms were pressed to the jewel tightly, shining with a purple, electric light. It suddenly curled up, pointing all its arms at her before giving a massive spasm outward.  

"_HAH!_" 

A massive, purple, streaming jet of coiled energy blazed forth from the jewel, aimed directly at Kapi. Her eyes widened. 

"Oh, shi--"

The beam collided into her abdomen with the speed of a supersonic jet, punching her clear through the tree trunk behind her without even slowing down. She screamed long and loud, feeling her unprotected stomach being burnt worse than her hand as the beam finally sizzled out seconds later, the force of it sending her soaring away into the forest.

Back in the small clearing, Ash's jaw had become unhinged as he watched Kapi vanish in-between the trees. Slowly he turned to face the smugly grinning Misty. "You have GOT to tell me how you taught Staryu that."

Misty arched an eyebrow, grin never waning. "Later. C'mon, lets go after that Kapi Pokèmon before it gets away!" As she spoke, Pikachu glanced at Staryu and nodded once in thanks, before bounding ahead after the airborne Koopa. 

"Hey!" Ash yelled after the Pokèmon, running to catch up. "Wait for me, Pikachu!" 

Misty walked over to Staryu and smiled, patting it affectionately. "Good job! C'mon, let's go after them!"

"Hiyah!" Staryu agreed, floating after her as she followed her two companions.

* * * * *

A muted rumble of thunder vibrated the walls, and the distant pattering of raindrops beat a steady rhythm on the roof. He paid it no mind; weather couldn't affect him, anyway. He was invincible, and untouchable. And he knew it.

"Is everything in place?" He asked, folding his suit-covered arms as his piercing gaze raked across those present at the long conference table. One of them swallowed nervously and spoke.

"Y-yes, sir. Th-the troops-s are in p-position now, s-sir."

He grinned, coldly and maliciously, an expression devoid of warmth or emotion. "Excellent. All is going according to plan, then." He paused, fiery eyes fixing on another individual seated at the table's far end, covered in shadows like he was. He kept the room dimly lit on purpose, to keep any of his subordinates from seeing him and therefore guessing his identity. It was a good advantage in his line of work. "How long will you need to prepare?" He asked of the second mystery person.

Two eyes opened to stare back at him, their pupils glowing an eerie violet in the shadowed darkness. "Three hours," A solemn reply drifted up from the abyss, seeming to come from nowhere and everywhere at once. "That is all."

He snapped his fingers. "Done. I trust you shall take care of any resistance you encounter?"

The pupils didn't reply, their gaze telling him all the answer he needed. His grin turned sinister. "Good. Go do whatever you have to do; we will provide backup support."

Again, the pupils were silent. Without any sign of farewell, they blinked out of existence, their owner having vanished from the room. More than one of those present shivered uncontrollably at the display, and he took a moment to regard them. This mission would be one of their most important in the history of his organization. They could not afford to fail this time.

He let out a quiet chuckle of amusement and rare delight. They _would _not fail. Not with the help he now had. The chuckle grew louder, becoming an insane, crazed laugh that made the cowering visitors want to run for the nearest exit. But they didn't. They couldn't. Not if they knew what was good for them.

Outside, stormclouds covered the sun.

* * * * *

Kapi took a deep breath to calm her nerves, and glared at the stream for the fifth time.

She'd had a rough landing…'rough' being an understatement…but she'd lived through it. After resting a couple minutes to regain her strength, she could hear Pikachu running through the woods after her, and had opted to start moving again.

It was agony for her. Her whole body was bruised and sore from her headlong flight and subsequent crash landing. Her left hand was completely unusable after being burned from her spear's mini-explosion, and she'd had a difficult time drawing in a full breath. With every step, fiery spikes of pain had lanced through her, and her legs begged her to stop. 

But she could not. She would not. 

A twig snapped somewhere in the distance behind her. She jumped a little, then forced herself to calm down, telling herself it was just a squirrel or something.

She couldn't rest while she was still being hunted.

It was an interesting part of the Koopa species' biological makeup-their abnormal ability to produce adrenaline at an increased rate for much greater periods of time than other animals, thereby allowing them to fight or flee long after anyone else would have collapsed from exhaustion. Kapi's adrenaline was still running high from her instinct-spawned battle with Pikachu, thus giving her the energy to continue on even while her limbs screamed for rest.

She'd struggled through what she thought was every possible obstacle the forest could throw at her; from tangled, nearly impassable sections of brush, to sharp branches that tore at her hide as she passed, to thorny vines that occupied every other spot where she walked, to nearly-hidden tree roots that tripped her up and sent her sprawling into a massive bunch of poison ivy. Eventually she'd reached a respite in the endless trees, and had dared to think she had finally arrived at the forest's edge. No sooner had the thought crossed her mind, however, that she looked down and was greeted by this damned stream.

She gave it a once-over. On the stream's opposite bank stood more of this blasted never-ending forest. The water was unpolluted and clean. Though wide, it was not deep, and the current seemed calm enough for her to swim. Deciding she stood better chances in the water than on land at the moment, she took a massive breath in and dived under the surface.

Her system registered shock the moment her skin touched the clear liquid, almost causing her to release her breath in a huge bubble. COLD! Cold, cold, cold, cold! The water was freezing! She shivered wildly, struggling to move her numbing limbs in swimming motions. As a Koopa, she was a bonafide natural at swimming; her ancestors were as much at home in the water as she was on land. Though the original Koopas had long since evolved from marine life forms to air-breathing, warm-blooded bipeds, the species was still very much adept at a marine lifestyle.

And so it was that after a few moments Kapi's body temperature began to adjust to that of the water, leaving her feeling quite comfortable in its depths. She swam leisurely, only occasionally coming up for a breath of air as she traversed the small channel and climbed out onto its opposite bank. She collapsed on the sandy soil, muscles aching. The adrenaline that had fueled her before was now draining from her body as her sense of immediate danger vanished, leaving a tired weariness in its place.

"No," She gasped, muscles trembling as she tried to push herself up to her feet. "I can't rest…..not yet…..gotta…..gotta go on….."

"Look, Misty! There she is!"

Kapi sighed and collapsed, knowing she could fight no longer. She was unable to stop the red-and-white ball that hurtled towards her, or the bright light that erupted from it and engulfed her…..

* * * * *

Suddenly Kapi was aware of her surroundings again. Those surroundings, however, were far different from those she'd seen a second ago. She blinked, completely disoriented and more than a little nauseous. She didn't even notice the fact that she'd been mysteriously healed, or that her strength had returned in full; she was too busy trying to keep her lunch down to care. Staggering to one side, she gasped and took several deep breaths to ease her upset stomach. Finally the abdominal cramps faded, and she stood up.

"Alright, Kapi! Let's see what you can do!"

The Koopa in question turned around to face Red, expression one giant frown. "What? What are you talking about?!" She waved her arms wildly. "What happened?! Where am I?!?"

"Oh my gosh, she CAN speak English!"

Kapi rotated 180 degrees in the direction of the new voice. There stood a boy around as old as Ash, but wearing a navy blue turtleneck and slacks. He was brushing several strands of spiky brown hair out of his eyes, which were currently bugged out in disbelief. In front of him stood a large red dragon, with massive wings and a tail tipped by a plume of flame. Two horns on its oblong skull gleamed in the red light as it spouted a short burst of fire into the air from its mouth. Its eyes fixed on her, their intent obvious. She slowly closed her open jaw and reached for her spear.

Her hand closed on empty air. "Hey!" She yelped suddenly, fearful without her weapon. "Where's my spear?!"

"Oh, that!" Ash tossed the familiar staff to her. "I was carrying it for ya, sorry."

Relief washed through her as her hands gripped the wood like an old friend. "That's okay. But could someone please tell me what's going on?"

"You're gonna fight my Charizard." The blue turtle-necked kid replied with a sneer, his confidence replenished after seeing a glimpse of her fear. "Good luck, 'cause you'll be barbequed to a crisp if he doesn't think you're challenging enough." The dragon roared an affirmative, agreeing with this statement.

Kapi put on a blank, emotionless expression, one she always wore whenever she was on the field. Great, just great. "Battle to the death?" She asked grimly. The boy shook his head.

"Of course not! You guys fight until one of you gets knocked out." He rolled his eyes contemptuously. "Geez, for a Pokèmon that can talk to humans, you're not very smart, are you?"

She arched an eyebrow, carefully measuring up her opponent. "Hey, I'm new at this. Give me a break."

The Charizard snorted out a smoke ring at her. It obviously thought this fight would be no contest. Surely its master knew better than to send him up against such a small opponent! Its tail swiped around and Kapi jumped over it, smacking his flank with the broad side of her spear's head. It bared its many sharp teeth at her, snarling. She just gave him a cold, calculating smile in return.

Faster than Kapi could track with her eyes, the Charizard's claws lashed out and caught her around the neck. Her eyes widened in surprise, having not expected the large creature to be so fast. Fortunately for her, something odd happened at that moment.

A warm, tingling sensation began at the base of her spine, curling up her backside and spreading through her shell. The feeling swirled up her neck and pounded through her skull, leaping over her shoulders and crawling up her arms until it coalesced at her fingertips. She gasped at the alien sensation, dropping to one knee in surprise as the brown-haired boy laughed smugly and the Charizard growled in triumph. "What's the matter? Feeling a little sick?" The boy taunted, unaware of the change overcoming her.

Kapi barely heard him. Pressure was building within her hands, which were getting uncomfortably hot. The tingling sensation was getting stronger; she could feel her spear growing warm under her fingers…..

* * * * *

He flew past a flock of migrating ducks, drifting with the wind and casually wondering when he should start his planned agenda. It wasn't like he was any real hurry—he had all the time in the world, after all.

So absorbed in his thoughts was he, that he began to pay less attention to his surroundings. It was a mistake he discovered all too well as he was barraged by a massive onslaught of power that hadn't existed moments before—over his mental connection to the magical plane, it seemed like an atomic explosion. Huge. Massive. So potent, in fact, that the shockwaves of it alone nearly threw him out of the air.

_What in blazes--?!_ His thoughts roared, confused as he sensed more than felt the massive energy spike. He hadn't been aware of such a surge of power since ages ago, when he met the Other, a being even more powerful than himself. His eyes narrowed at the implications of this thought. No, this energy was not the Other's, its signature was too different—too erratic. But one thing was certain: whoever it belonged to, it was too powerful to ignore. 

Something big was about to happen. He began to go into a teleport, but found he couldn't—the massive energy waves were blocking him somehow. He cursed. Seems he'd have to get there the 'old fashioned' way, then.

Looking around at his fantastic high-altitude view of the countryside, he finally picked out an area the waves seemed to be coming from and changed direction to take him there. Willing himself to go faster, he hoped against hope that he wouldn't arrive too late to see the fireworks.

* * * * *

The turtleneck-wearing boy stopped speaking when he noticed that Kapi's spear, as well as her hands, was starting to glow a cold blue. "Huh??" He exclaimed. "What's going on?!" 

The Charizard holding her 'round the neck roared in sudden pain and released her, its hands burnt and smoking. Alarm began to sweep through it as it stumbled backwards, waving its hands around frantically to cool them off. This opponent was a water type!

With Pokèmon, there is usually an intricate relationship between which element a creature is affiliated with, and how much damage they can do to their enemy. If, such as in this case, two opposing elements are pitted against one another, one element will be extremely effective…..while the other will do little to no damage at all.

Charizard crouched into a defensive posture, actually beginning to become afraid. Normally he'd win this match hands-down, but if she was so effective against him, he wasn't sure…..

Something new was flowing through Kapi, welling up from deep inside, pushing outward, unstoppable, uncontrollable, channeling itself through her limbs and taking shape in her hands, pumping into her spear; she yelled and tried to let go of her weapon, but found she couldn't. The pressure was immense now, and she felt like her skin would burst. The glow around her hands and spear grew brighter and brighter, blocking out everything in front of her, filling her vision. The power actually lifted her into the air a couple feet, buoying her up on the mysterious blue light. She gasped and feebly struggled, trying to break the hold it had over her, controlling her limbs-

Then, mercifully, it stopped. The light slowly faded and set Kapi back down onto the ground, where she dropped to one knee again. Nothing happened for half a second more, and Kapi dared to believe that whatever had happened to her was over.

Then the light coalesced into a massive orb at the head of her spear. Cool liquid exploded out of the weapon's arrow-shaped head; a massive, unending wall of pressurized water, slamming into Charizard and throwing it head-over-heels into a tree with a surprised roar and a fierce cloud of steam. On the other end of the wave, a completely surprised Kapi was blown backwards several meters by the recoil, where she hit the ground like a bag of bricks and lay unmoving, completely spent. The water mysteriously gushing out of her spear slowly trickled to a stop, until there was nothing more than a few drops glistening on its surface.

* * * * *

He frowned, now more confused than ever. His connection to the magic plane had just reported a drastic drop in the energy signature. However, the energy had almost immediately began building again, from what he could tell, and was slowly gaining strength at a less rapid rate than before. Puzzled, he continued his flight. Perhaps he'd find the answers to his questions when he arrived at the problem's source…

* * * * *

Silence declared complete dominion over the area. No one moved or spoke, all staring in quiet shock at the two combatanants who had been locked in fierce battle a second ago. Finally Kapi lifted a weak hand, to confirm that she was tired but all right. Ash's slack-jawed expression slowly turned to one of surprised delight. "I won….." He murmured, eyes growing brighter as the implications of what just happened coursed through him. "I won!" 

He leaped into the air, whooping gleefully. "I DID IT! I DID IT! I WON! WHOO-HOO! HOORAY! AH HA HA!" Suddenly pausing, he sneered at the brown-haired, turtle-necked boy. "Tough luck, 'Blue'! Better luck next time!" He cackled, thumbing his nose in the boy's direction. "Whazzamatter? Big tough Charizard scared of a widdle biddy turdle?"

The boy named 'Blue' stood silent, fists clenched, face white. "What the heck WAS that?!" He yelped out at last, open shock written all over his expression. "That's not a Pokèmon Attack!"

"It is now!" Misty snickered from next to Ash, who had resumed leaping around in joy. "Kapi is a new species! We found her a couple days ago at Viridian Forest!"

Blue's shock turned to indignant fury. "You WHAAAT?!?" He screamed at the top of his lungs.

Ash pointed a Pokèball in Kapi's direction and hit the button in its middle. The ball opened, its white light quickly scooping Kapi up and retreating her to its warm, comforting depths. For some reason, he couldn't stop laughing at Blue's expression. "C'mon Misty, let's go find someone more CHALLENGING to beat!" He guffawed, walking smugly away from his silent rival. Misty followed, grinning herself.

When they were out of earshot of Blue, Misty suddenly rounded on Ash, her smile gone. "All right, give her to me. Now."

Ash blinked, looking at her oddly. "What are you talking about?"

"Kapi, of course. She's a Water type; they're my specialty!"

Ash's eyes widened and he suddenly clenched Kapi's ball in both his fists protectively. "Uh-uh, forget it. She's mine; I caught her!"

"Hey, the only reason you caught her is because MY Staryu helped!" Misty replied, fury rising.

Ash cringed at her expression, knowing he'd regret what he was about to do; refuse her point-blank. Whenever Misty got mad, the result was always the stuff of legends for years afterwards. He knew this. But Kapi…..he liked her. A lot. Almost as much as Pikachu, who'd been strangely moody ever since he found out that he couldn't fight Kapi anymore because she'd been caught.

Deciding to try and buy himself some time, Ash glanced down at his best friend, who'd opted to stay out of the fight with Blue. "Hey, Pikachu! What do you think?"

The electric mouse glared angrily at Kapi's ball for a second, then shrugged carelessly. Ash's expression grew confused. "Pikachu? What's wrong with you? You're not like this normally…"

The Pokemon slowly rose his eyes to meet the human's. It saw endless feelings of love and companionship being radiated from this organism, and it knew that those feelings were reciprocated the same amount, if not more. Dark Matter could feel its hold on Pikachu relent a bit. The mouse smiled, and pointed at its master. "Pikapi!"

Ash smiled in relief, glad his friend seemed to have come back to himself. "All right, then."

"NOW JUST WAIT ONE SECOND! That doesn't prove anything!" Misty roared angrily, fists shaking at her sides. "Pikachu's YOURS, Red! Of COURSE he'd take your side! You always get the best Pokémon, it's not fair!"

"Hmmm. What we need is an impartial third party…" Ash replied thoughtfully. Pikachu's eyes lit up with an idea. He tugged on Ash's shirt to get his attention, then made a face with his eyes pressed out into a flat line, expression aloof. Looking at him, Ash was reminded by another of his long-time friends. "You're right, Pikachu! That's perfect!"

Misty arched an eyebrow. "Huh? What's perfect?"

Ash opened his mouth to explain, but was cut short as Kapi's ball began shaking ominously, a trail of water leaking from its edges.  Misty and Ash's eyes widened. "Uh oh…" They murmured, mentally cringing for what they knew would come next.

KABOOM. The ball exploded as a geyser of water slammed out of it, tossing Kapi out and onto the grass and throwing Misty and Ash several feet into the air. "Yaaaaaaahhhh!" The former screamed as gravity reasserted its control over them

"Ow!" Kapi yelped as the Cerulean City Gym Trainer landed on top of her, knocking the breath from her lungs. A second later, Ash landed on top of Misty. Kapi's eyes bugged out from the sheer force of their combined weight. "GACK!"

"Uh, Ash, you're a nice guy and all, but would you mind GETTING OFF?!" Misty growled, squirming to get out from underneath him.

Kapi crawled out from under both humans and staggered upright, breathing heavily. "I…don't like it…in there." She finally gasped out, bent over with her hands on her knees. "Keep…that damn…ball…away from me."

Ash shrugged as he stood up and helped Misty to do the same. "Okay, if that's what you want. Pikachu doesn't like being inside Pokèballs, either."

At the mention of Pikachu's name, Kapi was reminded of Dark Matter's current hold on him. "Listen, I've got something important to tell you about your pet--" She began.

"Who? Pikachu?" Ash interrupted, grinning. "Oh, he's not my pet. We're more like best friends than anything else."

Kapi blinked. "Er…right. Well, anyway…..uh, how should I put this.....er, has he gone missing for any length of time in the past two days?"

Ash blinked, mimicking her. "Yeah, he has. Yesterday he fell asleep and wouldn't wake up, and after I went to get a doctor he…..vanished. We didn't find him until four hours later. But how'd you know about that?"

"It'll take too long to explain. I'll just say that a couple friends of mine encountered him at my home in the Mushroom Kingdom during that time. They told me that shortly after they'd found him, he'd been possessed by a--"

"PIKA--CHU!" _Zap_. A strong bolt of lightning suddenly rampaged through Kapi's body, setting her nerves on fire. She gasped, muscles twitching spasmodically as she instantly blacked out and collapsed.

* * * * *

He arched an eyebrow. The energy spike had just stopped abruptly, fading away to nothingness like it'd never been there at all. But in its wake he could detect something else, another power source close to where the first had been; it was extremely faint, and probably wouldn't have been noticed at all if he wasn't so close to it. He arched his other eyebrow. Huh, that was interesting. This new energy was totally different from the known energies that Pokèmon produced, not matching up with any of them. Somehow, he couldn't help but sense a familiarity about it, like he'd felt it before at some point…he searched his memories but came up with no explanation. 

He was very close now: just a few more seconds, and hopefully all would become clear.

* * * * *

Ash's shocked stare slowly traveled from Kapi's smoking body to Pikachu, whose cheeks were still crackling with some of the electricity he'd just thrown. The Pokèmon glared at him as if to say, 'What?' 

Then his eyes briefly flashed with a purplish light. Ash suddenly frowned, recalling the tail-end of Kapi's attempted warning: _"…..he'd been possessed….."_  Now he understood why Pikachu had been acting weird. Everything suddenly seemed to fall into place.

"What are you!" Ash suddenly yelled at the yellow Pokèmon. "What have you done to Pikachu?! Tell me!"

"Red!" Misty chastised him softly, staring at Pikachu in much the same way Ash had. "Don't yell at him! He's just a....." She trailed off as Pikachu suddenly smiled in a very sinister, evil way. The purple light flared brighter, but he still remained silent.

"TELL ME!" Ash bellowed, completely disregarding Misty's words as his fists clenched tightly out of worry for what had happened to his friend. "DANG IT, TELL ME NOW!!"

The Pokèmon stared intently into Ash's eyes, and a voice spoke in the human's mind. It said two words, but those words were enough to chill Ash's blood and make his stomach drop out from underneath him.__

_"Dark Matter."___

* * * * *__

"I knew it." He muttered, hovering high above the scene and watching Ash's reaction. "That energy signature had to belong to Dark Matter." The speaker clenched a fist. He had encountered the evil purplish presence called Dark Matter before, long ago. The results had not been pleasant, but he had survived to talk about it nonetheless.

He would not let that parasite infect his world again. Sweeping downwards with a simple mental command, he decided it was time to force his hand…..

* * * * *

Generation Gap 

(The Light Blue World)

Part One

* * * * *

Dr. Light sighed, rubbing his eyes with one hand. "It's no use." He muttered. "I can't find him anywhere!" Turning away, he slowly shook his head. "Where could he have gone, anyway?"

"Hi, Dr. Light!"

The elderly scientist's thoughts stopped. For a moment, he thought his heart had, too. At the lab's door stood none other than the one person he'd been searching for, smiling nervously at him.

"Mega Man? _Rock?_" Dr. Light asked in stunned disbelief, and Mega winced. Dr. Light only used his real name in that tone when he had been seriously and almost terminally worried about him…

"Yah, that's me. Unless I'm greatly mistaken." Mega smiled. He took a furtive look around for Proto, but the red robot had disappeared as per usual. Finally shrugging, he stepped into the lab.

Dr. Light still seemed to be in a state of shock, because he hadn't made another sound or even moved from where he stood, in front of a conglomeration of complex equipment that covered one of the lab's walls.

The elderly scientist's mouth worked soundlessly for several seconds, before a light seemed to come on within his eyes. He rushed forward and suddenly grabbed Mega up into a bear hug, surprisingly strong considering Light's age. "I thought I'd lost you, boy!" The scientist gasped out, tears of joy streaming down his cheeks.

Mega's surprised expression softened with compassion. "Aw, Dr. Light, I'm sorry. I know you must've been upset…"

Light suddenly pulled away, sniffing and wiping water from his eyes. "Yes, well, that's true, I was. We all were, Rock."

Mega looked down at his oversized feet sheepishly. "Yeah, I know…"

The conversation might have continued further, had a feminine screech not come reverberating down the hallway outside the lab. "WHAAAT??! HE'S HERE?! I'M GONNA KILL HIM!"

Mega grimaced again. "Aw, crap."

Light let out a small chuckle. "Ah yes, that would be your sister who just spoke, I believe."

Mega whirled to face the door he'd come through and began to rapidly backpedal away from it. "Oh no, this is not good." He uttered, face devoid of any kind of mirth. "How'd she find out I was back?"

"I'M GONNA WRING HIS SCRAWY LITTLE NECK! HE'S GONNA BE A SODA CAN WHEN I'M DONE!" The feminine voice screamed.

Mega's back hit the lab's far wall. That scream had definitely been closer than the last one. In fact, if he listened hard enough, he could hear a faint clanging of metal feet against a metal floor as something came charging towards the lab. Mega looked around desperately. Nowhere to hide. Two flat lab tables lay in the middle of the room, clean and shining. Countless pieces of data equipment cluttered sets of stacked shelves on the right side, and most of the electronic junk one would expect to find in a lab was connected to the wall on his left. Behind him sat the supercomputer. The only entrance and exit to the lab was the door he'd come through; escape was not an option.

Mega's eyes stopped when they came to Dr. Light, who stood calmly next to him as if nothing had just happened. He wore a good-natured smile that caused the skin near the corners of his eyes to wrinkle up, and his eyebrows were slanted in an apologetic way. "Sorry Rock." He shook his head. "It looks like you'll have to face the music, so to speak."

Mega turned his terror-filled eyes back to the door as something forcibly hit it on the other side, slamming it open.

* * * * *

--------------------

Meanwhile, one hundred years in the future.....

--------------------

"Hey, X!" The crimson-armored reploid yelled from his spot up on the rafters, where he was casually leaning back on a cross-beam and working a crossword puzzle. "What's a four-letter word for 'something you shouldn't do with your dog'?"

Far below, one of several highly-advanced robots that were busy milling about and performing training exercises glanced up at the mention of his name, brushing a few strands of wavy black hair out of his eyes. He was short in comparison to those around him, barely topping five feet. What made him stand out even more, though, was the fact that he was dressed in nothing more than a plain T-shirt and blue jeans, a stark contrast to the battle armor that the others wore. "Cripes, Zero," He exclaimed in awe, "how'd you get all the way up there?"

The aforementioned reploid leaned over and shot his friend a crooked half-grin. "Why, I sprinkled some pixie dust on my noggin and thought happy things! Why do you ask?"

X unconsciously rolled his eyes, suddenly grinning himself. "Doctor Cain's been looking for you, ya know. Said something about tying you to a flagpole by your ponytail for spiking his coffee with Vodka yesterday."

Zero snorted. "Over my dead body," He replied, shooting a protective glance at the long golden river of hair that spilled down his back before returning to his puzzle. "Besides, the old coot deserved it. Been getting way too uptight lately, what with almost single-handedly administrating us Maverick Hunters like he is; it'd do him some good to relax. Do you know a word that means 'Dance of the Pineapple' and begins with the letter 'I'?"

"C'mon back down here, Zero."

The crimson Hunter pouted, gesturing towards the puzzle he held in his hand as he waved it in the air. "Aw, X! But I was just starting to make some headway on this thing!"

"I mean it." The tone in X's voice could not be argued with. Grumbling, Zero leaped straight off his perch in a move that would have been considered suicide by many. Down below, people glanced at the growing shadow on the ground, looked up, and started scrambling out of the way with various yells before Zero landed with a definite _CLANG_ of metal on metal. 

He grinned sinisterly as he slowly stood up to his full, towering height, staring at the number of young reploids that were openly gaping at him for having tried something so stupid. He suddenly roared and charged a few feet towards them, causing everyone in the group to scream and trip over themselves trying to run away. Unable to keep a straight face any longer, he doubled over laughing as X walked over, shaking his head.

"Zero, you're gonna give those newbies heart attacks if you keep that up."

"Ya can't have a heart attack if you're a machine, X!" Zero crowed, slapping his considerably shorter companion on the shoulder as they began to walk through the crowd towards the Training Room's exit. 

X's blue eyes glared at him seriously. "You know what I mean."

Zero waved his companion's worries away like one would a pesky housefly. "Ah, they know I'm jes' kiddin'. So anyway, what's so important that you had to make me come down here? Alia turn her hair purple again?"

X's mood flip-flopped as his face screwed up with the effort of keeping in laughter. "No, although she _is_ still mad about that. Right now I think she's plotting revenge against the mechanics that pulled it off."

"Yeah," Zero said wistfully as he clasped his hands behind his head, "there's nothing like a good-old shampoo swap to lighten up an April Fools' Day." He glanced at X out of the corner of his eye.

"Don't even think about it." X stated flatly with a smile, knowing what that look meant. "I keep all my shampoo locked up, night and day." He finally looked up at his friend's disappointed expression. "It pays to be paranoid when you live with a rowdy bunch like this."

"Indeed it does," Zero nodded, suddenly grabbing X in a headlock and drilling a knuckle into his unwisely bare skull, "especially if you're friends with me!"

"Wha--? Zero! Ow! Hey, that hurts! Knock it off!" X protested, struggling vainly to escape.

"Say 'I love Uncle Fester's shorts'!"

"No way!" X growled, still struggling.

Zero increased the pressure on X's head with his fist. "Say it!" he demanded.

"Ow! Okay, okay! I love Uncle Fester's shorts! There, you happy?!"

Zero finally released the hapless X with a triumphant grin. "I always knew you had bad taste X, but I didn't know it was _that _bad!" He cackled.

"Look, could we _please _get back to the point?" X grumbled, massaging his head. "The guys in Surveillance say they've found something interesting in Europe and want us up at the Command Center to be briefed. They wouldn't tell me what about, though."

"As usual." Zero grunted, face brightening. "Oh well, guess we'll just have to go find out!" Without warning he activated his teleporter, transforming into a red beam of light that shot up through the ceiling and disappeared. X jumped a little in surprise and looked around, suddenly alone. "I hate it when he does that." The reploid muttered before warping, himself.

* * * * *

"Uh, Roll, I can explain! Really!" Rock began hastily, hands held up in self defense.

The female robot in the doorway seemed not to have heard. Around Rock's height, Roll had the appearance of a little girl; but looks could be deceiving. She wore a simple red dress with white frilly lace underneath, and her hair was done up into a ponytail by a big green bow. Currently she was staring Armageddon at poor Rock, eyes aflame. "YOU!" She roared, blonde hair askew and breathing hard as she began to stomp forward. "YOU RECKLESS, INCOMPETENT, SELFISH LITTLE--"

A whistle.

Suddenly there was a fourth person in the room, standing defensively in front of Mega. "Whoa, sis, cool off." The red-armored, visored robot warned. An oblong oval shield was held ready in his right hand, while his left was formed into a Mega-Buster…just in case.

Behind him, Mega pretty much collapsed from a combination of shock and relief. "Proto! Bro!" he gasped, the gratefulness in his voice evident even to him.

Proto stepped forward. "Look, I know Rock can be an idiot sometimes—God knows I've seen my share of the stupid ideas he can get!"

Mega blinked. "HEY!"

"But I found him outside just now, and he explained to me why he was gone. Trust me, there is a good reason for it this time!" Though Roll couldn't see it behind the dark visor he always wore attached to his helmet, she knew her brother's expression was gentle. "Please, just hear him out first. Okay?"

Roll gritted her teeth, shut her eyes tight, and took several deep breaths. "Okay, fine. But this had better be good." She growled out at last.

Mega stood back up, taking off his helmet to scratch his scalp in puzzlement. "I don't know whether to be grateful or insulted…"

"Just go with the latter and we'll say you owe me one. 'Kay?"  Proto grinned. "Anyways, I'll be going now. Better start talkin', bro." The bright red flash of a teleport shot through the ceiling, and the mysterious Red Raider was gone.

Rock gradually turned to face his two closest relatives. "Okay, here goes….."

* * * * *

X materialized as a blue beam that slammed into the ground and coalesced into a solid shape again. Zero glanced over at him from where he stood next to a squat, yellow-painted reploid fiddling with a bunch of indecipherable equipment and listening closely to a pair of headphones. "Heya, X!" The reploid waved cheerfully. "Glad you could join the party."

"Hi Double!" X returned the greeting just as cheerfully, striding up beside them. "What's the news?"

"Ah, ah ah!" Double chastised, wagging a finger. "Can't say anything yet. Wait a bit and you'll find out; Cain wants the rest of the leaders here first."

X glanced at Zero, who shrugged. "Told me the same thing."

X's smile faded away. "It must be pretty big if he wants us all here."

"Darn straight, X. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, here they come now!"

As soon as Double announced that, the doors at the room's posterior opened, and a number of differently-shaped robots walked in, accompanied by one elderly human male in long blue robes with red trim who leaned heavily on a ancient wooden walking stick as he limped over.

"Hullo, Doctor Cain," X greeted formally as the human arrived at the station. The human gave him a kindly smile.

"X please, knock it off with the titles already. You know I don't care for them any more than you do." He spotted Zero at that moment, leaning against a computer screen and whistling a nameless tune. "YOU." He growled, brandishing his stick like a sword as he pointed it in Zero's direction.

"Who, me?" Zero asked innocently, looking shocked as he pointed a finger at his chest.

"Don't give me that. You know what you did." Cain snapped. "Just remember Zero, that the next time some crazed Maverick decides to tear off your limbs and use them for Q-tips, don't expect me to rebuild your sorry hide again."

Zero smiled wide, not intimidated in the least. "Good to see you too, Doc! How ya been?"

The elderly human grumbled something X was glad he didn't hear, because Zero burst out into gleeful laughter in response. By experience, X knew that meant it had either been an insult or one of its many close relatives, because Zero typically regarded them as hilarious.

One of the reploids that Cain had walked over near Zero, glaring angrily. "Knock it off," He warned in a low growl, furious that someone was being so rude to Cain.

Zero paused his mirth for the smallest of picoseconds to stare at the dragonlike reploid that had spoken, then began laughing all over again. Beyond anger by now, the reploid darted one hand out and slapped Zero upside the head. "Shut up!" He snarled, not noticing X, Cain and Double wince simultaneously behind him. 

The reaction was instantaneous. Without a sound Zero snapped around to face his attacker, a pulsing green blade of plasma clenched in his right fist. Before anyone could react Zero jerked the blade upwards, neatly slicing the reploid's hand off at the wrist.

Nobody moved for several moments, all staring at the mutilated stump at the end of the dragon reploid's arm. He appeared to be in shock, himself, since he didn't start screaming in pain just yet. First he looked up at Zero's cold, stony expression, then back to his arm, then up at Zero again. THEN he began screaming.

"MY ARM! MY ARM! YOU (expletive deleted), YOU CUT OFF MY BLOODY ARM!!" He howled, glaring fire and brimstone at the swordsman through his pain as he clutched his limb weakly to his chest and hopped up and down.

In one smooth motion, the blade was now an inch from the reploid's neck. Stunned, he forgot the excruciating pain signals his arm was sending him and stared in mortal terror at Zero's face. The Hunter's gaze was cold and piercing, face stone still, former smile nonexistent. 

"The only reason you are not dead right now, Magma," Zero spoke softly, "is because you're one of our best hunters. Do that again, though, and I guarantee a disembodied hand will be the least of your concerns." He pressed the blade half an inch closer to the reploid's main fuel line, located where a human's jugular would be. "Got it?" 

Magma Dragoon was, to say the least, unnerved. Unable to speak, he could only nod mutely. Zero slowly withdrew his blade, eyes not straying from Magma's.

X quickly approached them both and placed a concerned hand on Zero's shoulder, sending Magma a pitying glance. "Sorry 'bout that, but you should've known better. He's done worse to others, you know."

"Damn straight." Zero agreed, blade still active at his side. X frowned. "Magma, get over to the hospital wing and get your arm re-attached. I wanna have a word with the Commander."

Magma obediently scooped up the severed limb from where it lay discarded and lifeless on the floor, racing out of the room and away from Zero as fast as his hydraulically-enhanced legs could take him. As soon as the room's door hissed shut behind him, X began to speak to his blonde friend.

"As for you, you REALLY need to ease up a bit." He snapped. "He didn't mean a thing by it, and you know it. I mean, honestly Zero! What the hell has gotten into you lately??" 

Zero turned the full wrath of his glare upon the diminutive blue hunter, who crossed his arms and frowned harder, not scared at all. They both knew very well that they were equals in battle, and that X could easily defend himself if attacked. 

"Zero, this is no joke anymore." Cain spoke up, voice filled with stern concern. "You've gotta stop chopping people's limbs off when they look at you funny. You can't solve all life's problems through violence, you know."

"That sounds like something you'd say, X." Zero muttered. The entire monolouge seemed to have gone completely over his head--he resheathed his plasma blade with a dark grin, as if he'd found the whole incident amusing for some reason. "Well, whatever. It doesn't matter, anyway." His eyes glanced briefly at the door Magma had exited through, and X caught the silent message they sent; that it did, despite his words. Zero finally turned to look at Cain, arching an inquisitive eyebrow. "Anyway, back to the matter at hand!" He exclaimed brightly. "What's up, Doc?"

The tension in the room seemed to lift, somehow. X's frown disappeared as he fought to control a smile, and Dr. Cain rolled his eyes. "Funny." He snorted. "Excuse me if I don't roll on the floor with laughter, I've got a bad back." He turned to Double, and nodded. 

The yellow tech 'bot tapped at a few keys, bringing a map of Great Britain up on the screen. While most of the islands were filled in with green (indicating an 'all clear' status), one section at the south of the largest one had been highlighted in an angry red. Double pointed at this section as he began speaking. "We've found some unusual magnetic wave readings coming from this sector in the past couple hours. We can't figure out what's causing it, because its scrambling the probes we've sent in."

"What have those crazy Brits gotten themselves up to now?" One of the reploids chuckled good-naturedly before being silenced by a single look from Cain.

"Are the Mavericks behind it?" X suggested as he folded his arms, eyes scouring the map. 

Double thought about that for a second. "Possibly; after all, we can't know for sure until something gets in there and finds out. However, it seems a bit too random to be their work. No, I think something unrelated to the Mavericks altogether is causing the problem."

"So what do you want us to do?" Zero grunted carelessly, eyelids half-closed. "Go in there and take a peek?"

Double shook his head. "No, not yet. Like I said, it's been scrambling everything we've sent towards it. We need to insulate your systems first, to prevent the same fate from befalling you."

"Lovely." Zero muttered. "How long will this take?"

Double smiled. "Oh, I'd say only a couple days at most for each of you."

"A COUPLE--?!" Zero bellowed, impatience rising to the surface. "That's ridiculous! Whatever's causing that could be long gone by then!" He waved a hand wildly in the direction of the screen, vaguely indicating the problem area.

Double shrugged. "If you'd like to be reduced to the mental efficiency of a toaster by going in unprepared, be my guest."

Zero's mouth snapped shut angrily, unable to counter this logic. Instead, he just glared silently.

X sighed, dropping his arms to his sides. "Do what you have to do, I guess." He nodded. "Fine, we'll cooperate. What do you want us to do?"

Double turned off the map as Cain approached X. "Well, you'll each have to report to Maintenance to get the upgrades. We'll start with you."

X nodded, saluting his superior sharply. Zero jammed a fist in his mouth to stifle a snicker.

* * * * *

"Commanders X and Zero! What is your status? Over."

X slowly raised his wrist-mounted communicator and spoke into it, staring openly at the sight before him. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." He barely remembered to add an 'over' to the end of this sentence.

Zero had his beam saber out and fully charged, snarling and silently daring anything to attack him. Magma Dragoon carefully watched him out of the corner of one eye, staring at the phenomenon with the other.

"What do you mean? Over."

X really didn't know how to describe the swirling, rainbow-colored portal several meters away from them, sucking anything lighter than a robot into it like a collapsed star. "There's a…..hole in the air." He finally answered. "Over."

"A what, over?"

"A hole in the air. It has lots of different colors in it and seems to be acting like some sort of vacuum. Over."

"Commander, not to be disrespectful or anything, but have you been drinking today? Over."

X frowned at the comm. "No, I haven't, and reploids can't get drunk, anyway. It may not sound like it makes much sense, but it's true."

Zero suddenly grabbed X's wrist and spoke into the communicator. "Put Cain on the line, and hurry!" X nudged him, and he hastily added; "Over!"

"Excuse me, but who the hell are you, over?!" The voice at the other end demanded. Zero bristled at being spoken to in such a tone.

"COMMANDER ZERO OMEGA, YOU LOUSY PIECE OF--" X jerked his arm away before the sentence could complete itself. "Sorry about that," He spoke instead, "but you really oughta let Cain hear this, over."

"A-affirmative." The voice stuttered, in a tone of what many would consider open horror. Apparently its owner had realized that he had just mouthed off a commanding officer. "I-I'm connecting you to his secretary now, X sir. Over…"

* * * * *

Cain laid down on his bed and let out a pain-filled moan as he applied a fresh ice bag to his forehead. "Shouldn't have had that extra whiskey last night….." He grumbled, gently balancing the bag on his sore scalp.

Then built-in intercom crackled overhead. "Sir, Commander X is calling for you." His secretary reported.

Cain winced at the loud sound. "Tell him I passed away."

"Yes, sir." The intercom fell silent, and Cain sighed, sinking back down into his pillow.

* * * * *

"I'm sorry, but Doctor Cain is in a meeting right now, sir. Would you like me to take a message?"

"Oh, to heck with this." Zero growled, breaking into the conversation on his own communicator. "Contact Double for me, willya?"

The voice suddenly grew terrified, as if Death itself had joined the conversation. "AH! Y-yes s-sir, Com-m-mander Zero!! R-right away, s-sir!" It squeaked in outright fear. There was silence for a few moments.

"Why is everybody afraid of me today?" Zero grumbled, shooting a glance at X.

The azure Hunter shrugged and smiled. "Maybe it's just your way with people."

Zero opened his mouth to retort, but stopped as a cheery yellow robot's voice floated over their speakers. "Hellooooo, ladies and gents! What can I do for ya?" 

"Double, could you hack me into Cain's room?" Zero asked, now much calmer than before.

A wicked grin was audible in the answer. "Sure, buddyroe! Just hold on a sec….." The sound of a keyboard clacking away could be heard in the background. "There! Fire at will!"

Zero took a deep breath…..

* * * * *

"HEY DOC, WAKE UP!!!!!"

Cain shrieked at the onslaught of sound that sent burning spikes of pain slamming into him. His frail body spasmed and leapt off his bed, sending the ice pack hurtling across the room. Muffled laughter that sounded suspiciously like Magma Dragoon's could be heard on the overhead speaker now. "Rise and shine, Cain!" Zero bellowed again, happily.

Cain's body shook with unrestrained rage as he stood alone in the middle of the floor. He recognized that voice. "Zero," He snarled, "how did you get this number?"

"Pulled it out of a hat! Doesn't matter; X wants to chat! I'll hand you over to him, now….."

Even X's voice sounded amused. "Been getting into the whiskey again, huh Doctor?"

"Oh, shut up." He snapped, fetching his ice pack from the far corner and sitting down on his bed in a huff. "What's all the fuss about, anyway?"

"Oh yeah, sure, change the subject," Zero snickered faintly, but X interrupted him. "Well sir, we've arrived at the problem location and have met…..unusual findings."

Cain's interest perked up. "Go on."

X hesitated before replying—how should he put it?—but Magma had calmed down enough to throw his two cents in at that moment. "Sir, readings indicate massive space/time fluctuations at these coordinates, which have caused an ovalesque multidimensional relocating anomaly to form in midair."

"A portal, you mean." Cain translated.

"Yes sir." X confirmed with some relief and a grateful nod towards Magma Dragoon, although Cain wasn't able to see it.

"Yeah, it's got all these pretty colors 'n stuff." Zero chimed in. "Hey, why don't we jump in and see where we end up?"

"Precisely the kind of suggestion I'd expect you to make, Zero." Cain replied dryly. "You don't just go gallomphing off wherever it strikes your fancy--"

"Uh, I don't mean to interrupt, Doc," X cut in suddenly, "but Zero entered the portal just now without waiting for your reply."

The doctor stiffened. "What?! Quick, get him back out of there!"

"Yes, sir!" X hastily replied before cutting the connection. "C'mon Magma!"

The red robot grinned, revealing several rows of sharp teeth. "This oughta be interesting."

Together they entered the portal, their sensors becoming immediately overloaded by light and sound…..

* * * * *

_FLASH. _A split second of multicolored light filled the room, and suddenly a red-clad figure was lying woozily on one of the lab tables.

"Gack!" Mega staggered backwards, arms held over his eyes. "Geez, Roll, talk about a weird time to take a picture!"

"It wasn't me!" His sister's voice cried out. "What happened? I can't see!"

"It's all right you two, just calm down." Dr. Light reassured them. "You had a temporary overload in your visual receptors, that's all. They'll come back on in a moment."

True enough, Mega's vision slowly began to fade back in. As it did, he noticed something was different in the room.

"Who's THAT guy?" He exclaimed.

 A tall, armored figure was laying sprawled on one of the tables. As Mega watched, he opened his eyes and slowly sat up, long blonde ponytail swinging back and forth with his movement. "Uuuunnngh," He grunted, holding one hand to his twin-spiked helmet. "Alright, which jerk hit me?" He woozily scanned the room, eyes pausing on Mega Man. "X, is that you? How'd you change armor so fast?"

Mega Man stared. "Huh?"

Unseen to all, Dr. Light's face went white at the name X. Mega's expression changed from one of complete confusion to growing alarm. "Wait a minute, who the heck are you?!" He demanded, backing away before he remembered that he was already up against the wall. "I'm not X, my name's Rock!"

Zero blinked again, as he felt his sudden mental fog lifting. Rock? That name sounded vaguely familiar, but he didn't know how…..or why…..

Then he saw the face of the human standing next to Rock. And his eyes widened.

_"Kill him! Kill him!"_

_A vision of hatred, clad in white, with crazy hair and a moustache….._

_Blood on his hands….._

_Headaches….._

_Death….._

_Destruction….._

_An insane laugh…evil black eyes….._

_"YOU MUST KILL HIM!"_

_A man with a white beard. Blue eyes. Kind smile._

_"My rivalry with him is what gives me motivation in life….."_

"NO!" Zero suddenly shrieked, forgetting he was on a lab table as he frantically scooted backwards. "NO! STAY AWAY FROM ME! GET BACK!" His voice was full of panic and fear, fear like he had never known before. Eyes wide, breath coming in short gasps. He ignited his saber, pointing it towards Light with one trembling hand as he backed away some more, and fell off the table's edge. "Wha--! UMPH!"

Mega Man shot his creator a quizzical look. "Dr. Light, where do you come up with the ideas for these loonies from? I mean, programming your own creation to be scared of you? That's just nuts."

The doctor slowly shook his head, hands held up in a helpless shrug. "He's not one of mine, Rock. I've never seen him before in my life."

Mega arched an eyebrow and glanced over at Roll, instead. "Did you invite this guy over, sis?"

"Hey, don't look at ME!" She protested, eyeing the stranger warily. Instantly, Mega Man grew suspicious. Could this be one of Wily's bots? 

After a few seconds of silence, the red robot's head slowly looked around the table leg at Dr. Light. "S-stay away….." He growled shakily, saber still activated and thrumming. Mega Man instantly put up one hand in front of the Doctor, stepping forward to protect him at all costs. 

"What do you want with Dr. Light?" He asked, voice hard and cold.

"I--"

_Flash._ Another multicolored light lasting mere milliseconds, and two more bodies seemed to topple out of the ceiling onto the floor.

"Ow." One of them grunted, recovering quickly. He rubbed his blue helmet as he staggered upright. "Some ride….."

If Dr. Light had seemed pale when he heard the first stranger speak, it was nothing to how he looked now. He almost seemed dead on his feet as he stared with wide, horrified eyes at the familiar shape before him. He recognized this individual. He recognized him, because he was still building him.

"X?" The doctor slowly asked, in a trembling voice.

The blue reploid blinked. "Yeah, that's me. What do you—EH?" He had seen Dr. Light, and stopped moving for two whole seconds.

"Oy, dang, somebody get the number of that paperboy's bike!" Magma grunted, hauling himself first to his knees, then his feet. "Hey, X. What just happened?"

In reply, the azure eyes of Mega Man X rolled up into his head, and he fainted on the spot. 

Magma blinked. "Ooookay, never mind then. Hello, sirs--" He checked behind himself and found Roll there—"uh, and madam. Sorry for the abrupt entrance, but X here and me were just looking for a red robot with a blonde ponytail. He jumped through a space/time portal without permission, you see. Has he been around by any chance?"

Mega Man pointed at the lab table. "Try checking under there." He responded dryly.

Magma blinked and bent down for a look. There huddled Zero, arms wrapped around his knees, wide, frightened eyes staring at nothing, clutching his saber like a lifeline. He was whimpering softly to himself and slowly rocking back and forth, like a scared child. Magma blinked again, rubbed his eyes, and took another look. No change. The reploid who not two days earlier had mercilessly removed one of his limbs was now looking like a whipped puppy, helpless and vulnerable.

"Uh…..Commander Zero? Sir?" Magma asked uncertainly, afraid to get too close in case Zero had a relapse to what he'd done days earlier. "Sir, are you okay?"

Zero turned to stare at him, and his eyes seemed to re-focus. The light of coherency appeared in their pupils. "M-magma? Magma Dragoon?"

"Sir, X and I jumped into the portal after you. Um…is everything all right?"

Zero hastily crawled out from his hiding place and stood up, slightly embarrassed. "X, too? Where is he?" The red Reploid looked down. "Oh, nevermind." He rubbed the back of his neck with one hand, and slowly grinned. "Uh, yeah. I'm cool. I, uh, just dropped in and saw who else was here."

Magma took another look at the room's occupants, and scanned his memory files. Surprisingly, he found three exact matches. The records were extremely old, but their pictures clearly depicted the faces of two males and one female. Doctor T. H. Light, scientific genius of the 21st century. Mega Man, a.k.a. Rock, Light's second successful experiment in the field of robotics. Roll, Light's third creation and housekeeper, widely regarded as Rock's 'sister'. Magma blinked, and gave an irritated rumble. 

"Somebody help X wake up. I think I know why he passed out." He murmured.

* * * * *

Fantasy Denied 

(The White World)

Part One

* * * * *

As soon as Kirby stepped out of the portal, he was attacked.

There wasn't any time for him to see who it was--all his half-blinded vision could make out was a dark blurry shape flying towards him. Caught unawares, he stumbled backwards and tripped, falling flat on his back and saving his life. The shape flew on unobstructed over his head, passing out of his view as the world grew clearer around him.

Either the portal's destination had been grossly miscalculated, or he'd entered his home world in the middle of a dream. The environment was that of a lush tropical forest that smelt of deep dark earth and blooming flowers. Exotic bird calls and the rumble of a distant waterfall saturated the air, which dripped with an after-the-rain moisture--Kirby could feel some of the vapor in the air immediately form beads of water against his skin. Tall trees shaded the small clearing in which he lay, their wide branches bent crookedly up towards the sky. He glanced behind him in the direction the dark object had flown in, and saw a sharp hunting knife lodged firmly in the bark of a tree trunk. Kirby gulped from nausea as he realized what a close shave he'd just had. Where had that knife come from?

He got his answer when a second knife whizzed by his head, missing him by centimeters and embedding itself next to the first knife. Kirby jumped a little and looked around in the direction of its source, eyes wide.

Against all possible odds, a living, breathing dinosaur stood hunched in a defensive posture from the shelter of the trees at the clearing's opposite end. The species was familiar to Kirby--let's see, what did the humans call them? Oh yes, velociraptors. It stood on its hind legs, rusty brown metal plating covering its vulnerable chest and stomach. It held a heavy mace in one hand, and the other held a third knife at the ready.

"What the heck?!" Kirby yelped, except that wasn't what he said. The words that exited his mouth were some strange, garbled language in a voice much more high-pitched than his normal one. He blinked, and repeated the words to himself. Again, what he said did not match what he was thinking.

He looked up at the bipedal raptor again. Somehow, he was speaking a language he was unfamiliar with. How, he did not know. He looked down at himself and very nearly groaned.

The form that this dream had bestowed upon him was also that of a dinosaur, but of a different species than the raptor. Again he briefly wracked his brain for its scientific name. Protoceratops. That's it. A cousin of the infamous three-horned triceratops, this form only had one horn--located just above his beak-like mouth, where the 'nose' was. His skin was a light salmon pink in shade, with darker hues of purple running up along his backside. He faced the raptor again, more nervous than before. This form didn't have hands, but rather elephant-like toes; he wasn't sure he'd be able to defend himself against this sharp-clawed predator with just the tiny horn as his only weapon

"Tricky! _Look out!_"

The words were in the strange new language Kirby was speaking in; yet somehow he understood their meaning without translating them in his head like he normally did. It came from a tan blur that leapt out of the forest at that moment, jumping in-between him and the raptor. One smooth movement, and the benefactor whipped out a sleek sliver gun.

The armored velociraptor barely had time to blink in surprise before a small red laser stabbed through its arm. It yelled in confused pain for a couple moments, clutching at the deep wound that was already starting to bleed heavily. Finally it cast one furtive look in Kirby's direction and fled.

Kirby's rescuer turned to regard him, twirling the gun on one finger and holstering it. "Are you okay, Tricky? Did he get you?"

Words burst from Kirby's mouth before he could think of a reply. "Fox? Fox McCloud, is that you?"

The fox grinned, patting Kirby lightly on the frill around his scaly neck. "Good to see you too, buddy. Again, are you hurt?"

"Uh, no, I-I'm okay. What are you doing back on Dinosaur Planet?"

"I came back to visit you, of course." He looked over at where the raptor had been standing when he arrived. "Looks like I did so just in time to save your tail again." His grin became a smirk. "What would you do without me?"

"Is that why you're here? Just to see me?" The words spewed from Kirby like lava from a volcano; he couldn't stop them even if he tried. Such was the nature of dreams, where their creators always have some degree of control over what happens in them--including what others say and do.

"Uh, well…to tell you the truth, we've gotten another job." He replied, scratching the back of his neck. "Our destination is near here, so I thought I'd swing by on the way." He arched an eyebrow. "Plus, I was also wondering if you'd mind coming with us."

"Really?" Kirby squeaked, in a voice of excitement that he didn't feel.

"Hey, you are an official member of team Star Fox, after all." He grinned. "So what do ya say?"

"Well—"

The surroundings began to shift and fluctuate crazily, and Kirby recognized the end of the dream approaching. Fox stood waiting for his answer a couple seconds more, before vanishing with the surrounding jungle.

Kirby looked back down, at his pink, rotund self. He sighed in relief. "Good to be home again," he murmured.

* * * * *

Timed Salvation 

(The Green World)

Part One

When the blazing green afterimages imprinted on his vision finally faded, Mario stood up to see where he was. He blinked rapidly in disbelief, then slapped his forehead. "Aw, no! Not here again!"

Hyrule Field's yellow-green grass swayed around him, seemingly endless in every direction. Mario was barely able to make out the structure of a castle in the distance, and the closer shape of Lon Lon Ranch's tall walls. Only meters behind him was a massive, thick forest that seemed to block out all light within its borders.

Mario sighed and sat down, thinking. "Let's see. If I was a grumpy and sarcastic MagiKoopa intent on hiding something as big as a power generator in this world, where would I put it?" He glanced around, as if expecting an answer. Of course he received none.

Mario slammed a fist into the dirt out of sheer frustration. "Dangit, I don't know anything about Hyrule's geography! It'll take me forever to find the generator like this!" After a few minutes of fuming, reason entered Mario's thoughts. "Maybe I should go ask Malon. She could probably help."

Thus decided, he stood up and began walking towards the distant ranch walls.

"Hey!"

The small, shrill voice stopped him in his tracks. Blinking, he turned around and was almost immediately accosted by a small glowing thing that flew in his face, two nearly-transparent wings fluttering rapidly. "You're Mario, right? Do you know where Link is?" It asked.

Mario jumped slightly. "Huh?? Who are you? How do you know my name?"

"I'm his fairy partner! Navi!" The glowing thing replied angrily. "Saria told me he'd visited the Lost Woods yesterday," She added in a quieter tone. "She said that Link was helping two outsiders named Mario and Luigi get back to their homeland. You're one of them, aren't you?"

Wary, Mario slowly nodded. "Yeah, I'm Mario. I'm not too sure where Luigi is, though." The statement left him feeling slightly uneasy. He really hadn't thought of where his brother could be, or what his current condition was. Worry began building within his thoughts, and he shook them off before they could turn into panic. He frowned. "Navi…gee, that name sounds familiar. I think he did mention a Navi at one point…"

"Do you know where he is??" Navi squeaked excitedly. When Mario shook his head, her tiny heart sank in disappointment. "Sorry I can't help you." He amended quickly. "I'm currently heading to Lon Lon Ranch for some advice, you see."

"On what?" The fairy asked curiously, flying around to face Mario as he turned away from her.

Mario frowned again, faintly irritated for some unknown reason. "Well, the well-being of the universe quite literally depends on it." 

He began to walk forward in the ranch's direction again, but the fairy flew back into his path, even more curious. "Really? How come?"

Mario gave her a warning glare. "You don't want to know."

"Try me." The fairy responded boldly, brave for her tiny size. Mario sighed and tossed his hands up into the air.

"Well, basically this reality, as well as every other possible one, are on the verge of collapsing and destroying everything. I'm trying to find a machine that will help turn a force field one-sixth of the way off, so that we'll be able to get through the field eventually, take a magical talisman beyond, and put it back in its proper universe so everything will return to normal. There, satisfied?"

Navi's wings almost stopped beating, so great was her shock. Finally she blinked. "Um, yikes. Half of that went straight over my head, but if you're looking for something you'll want to try the Lost Woods. It's the best hiding place around."

Mario turned around to face the solid wall of trees. "What, you mean THOSE woods?" He asked apprehensively.

"Yeah. You'd better stick with me when you go in there; if you don't, the results won't be pleasant." She fluttered over to his shoulder and perched there, dimming her glow enough so that Mario could get his first good glimpse of her. She appeared human, with the obvious exception of two wings poking up below her shoulders. She was dressed in a one-piece dress that seemed to be composed of a leaf wrapped around her slim body. A shock of short bluish hair topped her cute face and pointed ears, which were beginning to redden under his studious gaze. "What?" She demanded at last.

Mario blinked and shook his head, starting to walk towards the forest so quickly that Navi almost toppled off her perch. "Nothing. Never mind."

Navi righted herself with a glare. "Hey, watch it!"

"Sorry."

Together they entered the forest. Mario frowned at the thick canopy, which blocked out virtually all light from above, and the tall, thick trunks that stood like silent guardians around him. They reached up from the ground in every direction, casting everything into a shadowed semi-darkness that lessened visibility beyond a few feet. "Man, I wish Link was here….."

--------------------

"Man, I wish Navi was here." Link grumbled. "She could help us out of here, no problem."

Luigi stopped walking, causing Link to almost collide with him. "Hey, what's the holdup?" The young Hylian demanded.

The green plumber turned to face his companion with a sheepish look. "I just realized two things."

"What?"

"First, that we're not in Bowser's castle after all."

Link blinked. 

"You see, Bowser's place uses gas-powered torches." Luigi continued. He held up the torch in his hand. "They can't be removed from their holders, unlike these."

Link looked at his own torch. "It took you all this time to notice that?" He rolled his eyes. "What else?"

"Second, my torch is about to go out." The light in the area suddenly dimmed substantially. "Correction: it just went out."

Link grimaced. "Oh, wonderful." He looked at his own torch—it seemed ready to fade out as well. He shook his head. "Not good."

"However, there is some good news." Luigi mentioned.

"What's that?"

"I can see light up ahead."

Link's head jerked back up. Sure enough, a small hole of whitish light was visible far off in the distance. "All right, maybe we'll finally get out of this place!" He grinned.

* * * * *

End of World Tour: Part One

(*Dum dum DUM!* To be continued! *DUM dum dum!*)

* * * * *

"Going Postal" 

[Our scene opens inside an average adolescent room, average in the fact that it is messy enough to contain its own fossilized remains within the foot-deep layer of junk encrusted over the floor. A large feline sits industriously typing away at a keyboard, seated at a computer workstation in front of the room's one and only window. The alarm clock off to the side reads 3 a.m.]

**Stoney:** Ugh…[Blearily stares at computer screen] Must…finish…chapter…

[The sound of a teleporter blasts through the room. Suddenly, a tall figure in full red battle armor is standing next to Stoney]

**Samus Aran:** Can't sleep?

**Stoney:** No, I'm [yawns loudly] writing a new part of The Crossover Saga.

**Samus:** Ah yes, of course. What else would you be doing in your spare time?

**Stoney:** Don't be so sarcastic.

**Samus: **Sorry. [Leans over to read the text on the screen; there is a long pause]

**Stoney:** [Finally stops typing and stretches] Well, that was gruesome.

**Samus:** Wanna read some mail as per usual?

**Stoney:** If I can stay awake long enough. Wha'cha got? 

**Samus: **[Shrugs] a whole bunch of stuff. DK, bring it in!!

[A giant brown gorilla with a red tie bursts through the room's door, carrying a few metric tons of mailbags over his shoulder; he tosses it onto the floor, resulting in vibrations that register 5.5 on the Richter scale. The gorilla waves once with a big grin and leaves.]

**Stoney:** [Stares, wide-eyed] Jumpin' Jack Calloway, that's a lot of mail!

**Samus:** Yeah, it just doesn't stop coming in…

[Pause] 

**Stoney:** [Smiles] True, but I like it that way! [Picks a random postcard out of the first bag. It has a picture of a lovely beach scene on the front; on this beach are several bikini-clad supermodels, gathered around a specific individual who is leaning back and sipping some lemonade under an umbrella]

**Stoney:** [Squints a little] Waitaminute, I think I recognize that guy… [Flips postcard over to read the return address] Yup, I thought so! This comes from Gamemaster Anthony Bault, currently vacationing in the Caribbean! Let's see what he has to say:

"Dammit...just when that treaty was set too...  
  
Oh well...I heard the other world leaders didn't sign because Bush was still pissed at Saddam.  
  
Anyways...still looking good, Stoney! And thanks for the cameo!"

**Stoney: **[Blinks] Treaty? What treaty? Bush was signing a treaty? Huh? What? [Clutches head and moans] Arrgh, I'm so confused…

**Samus:** [Smirks, although you can't see it behind her helmet] What, do you have a 5-second memory or something? Don't you remember what happened last chapter?

**Stoney:** [Stops moaning, and stares blankly off into space for several seconds] …no.

**Samus**: Here, maybe another letter will clear your head. This one's from continuing writer AnT:

"So the Crossover Saga truly begins. So you say the world to not be taken likely of is our world, huh?"

**Stoney:** I did? That's odd, I don't remember it. But then again, I think I was drunk when I wrote the last chapter…

  
"You know, this sort of seems like a story I was planning to write. I'm sure I told you about it. Let me say its, hopefully, not a rip off from Anthony Bault's or yours. I've been planning this years before I read those."

**Stoney:** Hmm, let me guess. It was a story with an overdramatized-yet-flat main character, who grows up in a poor backwards village somewhere, goes on wild adventures with a few friends, and winds up having to save the world and/or universe from a flat villain. Am I right?

**Samus:** No, that's the plot for modern RPG's…

**Stoney:** Rats. I always get those two mixed up.

**Samus:** Now that you've completely alienated most of the audience, shall we continue?

  
"Lets say it involves games, anime, cartoons, and authors."

**Stoney:** Speaking of whom, I just realized that some of these letters might have questions for the cast.

**Samus:** Shall I?

**Stoney:** Please do.

**Samus:** Roger that. Teleporting now…[Presses a few buttons on her gun arm and fires at the middle of the room. But instead of a projectile, a flash of light emerges. Suddenly, mass confusion ensues as every cast member simultaneously appears!]

**Mario:** Huh?

**Mega Man: **Gwah?

**Luigi:** Eh?

**Kirby:** @&%$??

**Pikachu:** Cha--?

**Bowser:** Roar?

S**onic: **Um?

**Link:** Er?

**Random Chocobo:** Qweh?

**Peach:** Who?

**Daisy:** What?

**Mecha:** Where?

**Kapi: **When?

**Kamek:** Why?

**Malon: **How?

**X: **Which?

**Another Random Chocobo:** Wark?!

**Fighter:** Applesauce!

**Black Mage:** HADOKEN! [Crispy-fries Fighter]

**Thief:** [Winces] Ouch.

**Red Mage:** Indeed. [Nods]

**Zero:** [Pointing at Fighter} HAHA!

**Samus:** Riiiight…

**Stoney:** [Sweatdrops] Continuing…[reads over the letter again] Authors, such as _yourself?_ Yeah, I'm on to you, AnT! I bet you were gonna subtly attempt to make a self-insert fic, weren't you? WEREN'T YOU?? ADMIT IT, DARNIT!!

**Samus:** Deep breaths, Stoney. Take deep breaths.

  
"Nice chap by the way."

**Stoney:** He was rather nice, wasn't he?

**Kapi:** [Slaps forehead] Uh, would somebody mind telling me how I got here?

**Fighter:** …no. Wait, yes.  Maybe? No!…Or yes! Um, what was the question?

**Black Mage:** HOW did you survive?!?

**Fighter: **I just…[Goes into dramatic pose] …BELIEVED!

"I can see why this took you so long. I mean that weird thing before the casting. Woo. I gotta learn not to write my stories too chaotic. Hope you update sooner this time."

**Everyone Except Stoney: **[Glare]

**Stoney: **Er, um…[Sweatdrops] Crap, maybe I should stop writing cliffhangers at the ends of my chapters. You guys seem to be getting tired of all the waiting. Believe me, I understand. Waiting is hell. Sometimes I hate myself for what I put you poor readers through. [Sighs] FierceDiety666 sez:

"A cat... yah. Well, you are an amazing writer."

**Stoney:** No I'm not! STOP TEASING ME! [bursts into tears]

**Link:** [Pats him lightly on the head] There, there…

"Just update, keep the letters to a minimum, and list the known portals. Oh, and add Skies of Arcadia in too."  
  


**Stoney:** [Magically stops crying] Can't, never played it. 

**Mario: **Has that title come out on the Gamecube yet? 

**Samus:** He apologized earlier for the long letter segments…and as for how many portals there are, nobody knows. It's probably a really, really big number, though. 

**Kirby:** Well, theoretically, squillions of them are being created each nanosecond.

**Mega Man:** [Thinking out loud] Let's see, the universe is approximately 46, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000 years old, so if you divide that down to nanoseconds, then multiply that… [Face scrunches up for a moment, then goes blank] Syntax Error. 

[X and Zero eye each other, and the latter doubles over laughing]

**Mega Man:** [Suddenly shakes self back to consciousness] What the--? What just happened? 

**Stoney:** [Ignoring this whole display] I'll probably continue to put newer portals in this story as long as I don't run out of colors to use. God forbid I should start referring to a portal as 'Raspberry', 'Electric Neon', or 'Polka-Dotted In A Pattern That Looks Kinda Like A Marshmallow When You Turn It Sideways And Squint A Little Bit', like the company Crayola does with their markers. [Shudders]  
  
"Where the #^(% did Sigma come from?"

**Zero: **[Laughing too hard to speak]

**X:** Blueprints and a bunch of scrap metal, probably…  
  
"I

  
WANT  
  
ZERO  
  
AND   
  
FLAMING   
  
PIANOS   
  
OF   
  
JOY"

**Zero:** [Calms down, finally] Hey, lookit that! I've got fans! YAAAAY!

**Stoney:** Wait. Stop. No more of that crap, okay? It is WAY too late at night for loud cheering right now…

**Samus:** What about me? Can I cheer?

**Stoney:** Oh, you're okay. I need you to wake me up in case I doze off in the middle of reading letters. Zero's another matter, though.

**Zero:** Oh yeah? Well, I'm gonna cheer anyway! Wha'cha gonna do about it, huh?? [Activates Z-Saber and menacingly waves it inches from Stoney's nose] Nyah nyah nyah nyah, nyah! I dare either of you to try anything!

**Stoney:** Can't back down from a dare…[Shrugs] Okay. Samus, care to do the honors?

**Samus:** Gladly. Activating teleporter, now… [Presses a few buttons on her gun arm and fires a blast above Zero's head. In a flash of light, a flaming piano appears in midair.]

**Zero:** [Looks up] HOLY--

[WHAM!!]

**Zero:** OW!!!

**Samus:** [Smiling] I love technology.

**X:** ZERO! ARE YOU OKAY?? SPEAK TO ME!

**Zero:** [Sitting down with a dazed expression, his head protruding through a hole in the still-burning piano] I don't wanna eat the spinach, mommy…[passes out]

**Kapi:** [Douses the flames with her spear]

**Stoney:** [Chuckles] Well that certainly gave me some joy. Next reader! 

**Malon:** [Rummaging through the letter bags] Hmm, here's one.

**Stoney:** Okay, let's see it! [looks at the envelope's return address and gasps in shock] HOLY HELL, IT'S THE DRAGONBOY!!! Welcome back, Billy-buddy!

[Random applause is heard as Stoney rips the letter open and begins reading]

"Hiya, Stoney! Miss me?"

**Stoney:** Yes, but out of curiosity, what would you do if I said no?

"I love this chapter, especially since you said there'll be more action. Dialogue is necessary and great, but I like action a lot, too. Lights and camera would be nice also (I'm sugar-high, ignore me)... 

**Stoney:** QUIET ON THE SET, PEOPLE!!! 

**Kamek:** [Wincing and covering his ears] Ow. Don't ever, EVER do that again. [muttering] Louder than a friggin' airhorn…

**Stoney:** [Grins] Sorry, I couldn't help myself.

"I can also think of some stuff you've kinda hinted at that I bet'll be coming in soon, heh heh heh..."

**Stoney:** [Coughs loudly and avoids eye contact with everyone] Uh, I don't know what you're talking about. Nope.

  
"And Bowser's become a semi-sorta-good guy! Yippee!" 

**Bowser:** [Rolls eyes]

"*Does his special happy dance*"

**Stoney:** [screams and holds paws up in front of his face] AAH! MY EYES! THEY BURN! I did not just see that, I did not just see that…[takes deep breath] Okay, I'm better now.

**Random Chocobo:** Qweh?

**Kirby:** All right, who let the two giant chickens in here?  
  


"And I'm mentioned, here and in the last chapter! That always gives my little ego a big rush!"

**Stoney:** [Shrugs] It's not that difficult to get mentioned, really…

**Samus:** Unless your name is three paragraphs long or something.

**Stoney:** Samus, do you mind?

**Samus:** Heh, sorry.  
  
"And I'm done! Now if you'll excuse me... *hides under a mountain of garbage*"

**Stoney:** I'm not even gonna ASK what that is all about…Sparky the Seventh Chaos is next! Her letter is as follows:

"Aie! What a plot twist!"

**Samus:** Be afraid. Be very afraid.

"*gulp* ...well, I think you know who I wanna request. Give you a hint: he has a white ruff above his heart, and his name is spelled S-H-A-D-O-W. ^_^"

**Sonic:** [Growls] What is it that people see in that Faker, anyway?

**Stoney:** COME ON, people! I just wrote a whole new frickin' STORY based on Shadow! What more could ya possibly want? Besides money, power, fame, world peace, a cure for cancer, less pollution, and new shoes, of course.

  
"I'm hopeless."

**Kamek:** Yes, you are.

  
"Well, hope you can update soon!"

**Stoney:** I just have, so here you go! Dr. Sipp, the world-renowned professional on toenail transplants, sent in our next letter:

"Mail bomb? Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of eating your cheesecake." 

**Stoney: **OH DEAR CREEPING GODS, NO! Cheesecake is my favorite dessert! [exposes claws on his paws] Anyone who touches my slice DIES. Understand?

"And no, I am not related to Dr. Pepper."

**Stoney:** You sure? 'Cause I heard from Sprite that Coke told Mountain Dew about how Mr. Pibb found out somebody named Sipp was asking Dr. Pepper for money.  
  


**Fighter:** [Opens mouth to speak]

**Black Mage: **[Claps hand over Fighter's mouth] DON'T EVEN SAY IT!

  
"*ahem*"

**Stoney:** *Cough* *wink* *nudge-nudge* 

  
"Well, nice chapter there, although I haven't quite forgiven you for leaving me on a cliffhanger… Sonic ;_;" 

**Sonic: **Yeah, what?

**Stoney:** She wasn't talking to you, she was talking to me about you.

**Sonic: **Oh. Should I still be interested?

**Stoney:** Yes.

**Sonic:** Okay, I'll be over here eavesdropping, then.

**Pikachu:** Chachu, ki papa: (And now, back to the letter:)

"So keep writing."

**Stoney:** Or else?

  
"Request video game character? Heh.. heh.. Nevermind."

**Stoney: **Aw, come on! What were ya gonna suggest, huh? Huh?! HUH?!? Me wanna know!

  
"You should send your 'What if Metal and Sonic switched places?' story to NetRaptor."

**Stoney: **I would, but the idea of somebody as talented as she is actually reading my junk is embarrassing enough to force me into early hibernation.

**Mecha:** What's this about me and S-so, S, S-son…the hedgehog switching places?

**Stoney:** Different storyline. Forget it.

**Mecha:** I'm a robot; I can't.

**Kamek:** [Cracks knuckles while grinning evilly] That can be fixed…

  
"You're proud of me? *sniffs happily* All I ever wanted was to make you proud.. my dream has finally come true! *is promptly yanked away by a rather irate Robo Knuckles*"

**Stoney:** [Blows nose to the accompanying sound of a trumpet blast] Aw, stop that! You're making me get all sentimental.

**Mecha:** Greetings, Mecha Bot Four. What is your destination?

**Robo Knux:** They've got a special discount sale going on at Mel's Auto Parts for aspiring authors, and Sippy here still owes me for that bet we made last week, so I'm going to get upgraded! Bye!

**Sonic:** [Sarcastically] Gee, how uncharacteristically selfish of him…

**Stoney:** Well, here's an interesting little postcard from Starlight the Wanderer!

"I greatly look forward to the next chapter! *Pouts in turn* You didn't answer 'bout Mewtwo...WAH! "

**Mewtwo:** [Teleports into the room] WHY IS EVERYBODY OBSESSED WITH ME?!? ARRGH!

**Stoney:** Aw geez, ANOTHER guest appearance?

**Mewtwo:** Shut up before I use pyrokinetics to make your head explode.

**Everybody Else: **……****

**Mewtwo:** Much better. Now where was I…? Oh yes. WHY DON'T YOU PEOPLE PICK ON ANOTHER FRIGGIN POKÈMON, HUH?!? I AM SICK OF GETTING ALL THE ATTENTION!!! [stops for breath] All right, I'm done.

**Stoney:** Why are you complaining? At least you're not as popular as Pikachu is…

**Pikachu:** KAPA! (YEAH!)

**Mewtwo:** Um, that's because…uh…errgh, DIE! [Points finger at Stoney]

**Stoney:** EEP! [He ducks. Outside the window, a squirrel's head explodes]

**Mewtwo: **……

**Stoney: **……

**Everyone Else:** ……

****

**Mewtwo: **[Sweatdrops]…um…

****

**Random Squirrel:** You_ bastard_, that was my _aunt_! GET 'EM, BOYS!

**Mewtwo:** Shit! [Gets chased away by a horde of rabid killer squirrels]

"Ok, done. I'm a male by the way, of the age of around 16.

**Stoney:** Oh good, now I won't have to keep referring to you as 'that person from that place who once said that thing in a review'. I can just say, 'him'.

**Samus:** Don't be sarcastic to the readers, Stoney.

"I am currently working on a novel."

**Stoney:** Could you send me a signed copy?

"I like your list of quotes, and need to tell the 'Everything bows to success, even grammer' one to my english teacher. For now, C-ya!"

**Stoney:** I'd correct your spelling, but it bows to success, too…whew, just a couple more letters to go. Then I'll be able to sleep. Here's a letter, from…FierceDiety666…? [Blinks] 

[Long pause]

**Peach:** Again?

"I needed to review again. I'll make it quick. I am completely in with Yoshiman on 8-Bit Theater being in the fic. 

**Thief:** [Grinning] I, er, 'persuaded' my fellows to join this cast after learning about the paychecks we'd get. Don't worry.

"Second, I am all for Zero and Shadow in the fic."

**Zero:** Hey, I'm still here! What are you talking about?

**Sonic:** [Trembling with rage]

 "As for the three portals, I want them to lead to 8-bit, 21XX, and Metal Combat. Forget SOA."

**Daisy: **Ever hear of the word 'please'?

**Stoney:** But I haven't played Metal Combat, either! I'm deprived, I know…and why are there so many Shadow fans? Is he part of the Mafia or something?

**Sonic:** I wouldn't put it past him…

**Luigi:** [In full-blown Italian accent] Leave-a the gun. Take-a the canolli.

**Mario:** [Eying his brother warily] Don't do that. It creeps me out. 

**X:** 21XX is really the same world as my little bro Mega's, the only difference being time. So, it's also the Light Blue World.

**Stoney:** [Picks out one envelope] This is the last letter for tonight, guys. I'm wiped. [Pauses to read return address] This is from someone named Tiggera.

**Samus:** Well go ahead, read it then!

**Stoney:** Okay, okay! It says:

"Dude! I love this story!"

[Pause]

**Samus:** Well?

**Stoney:** Uh, that's all it says.

[Samus blinks, grabs the letter, and flips it over to see if anything's written on the back. Nothing's there]

**Bowser:** Ah yes, short and sweet. Just how I like 'em!

S**toney: **Okay, that's all I'm gonna respond to for now. Samus, if you would be so kind…?

**Samus:** I'm on it. [Points her gun at the cast and fires. Another flash of light, and they're gone]

**Stoney:** Thank you muchly.

**Samus:** No prob. Be seeing you around. G'night! [Teleports away]

**Stoney:** [Turns to look at the computer screen again, and yawns] Well, I sure hope the readers'll like this. [Shuts computer down] 

[Fade-out. Don't forget to review, people!]


	15. Chapter Fourteen: Fatal Velocity, Part O...

Fatal Velocity  
(The Blue World)  
Part One

"…_Sonic's an enigma to me. Sometimes he acts so hopelessly idiotic that you can't help but wonder how he'd stayed alive against Robotnik for so long; other times he has these moments where, if only briefly, he's a genius. If he had less of the former and more of the latter, I wouldn't have any reason to complain…but there's about as much chance of that happening as there is of Eggman conquering Mobius."_

—From the journals of Knuckles T. Echidna

* * *

Sonic awoke to the decidedly uncomfortable feeling of being shaken in a rough manner. "Wake up, hedgehog," A low growl demanded.

Eyelids fluttering open, Sonic unthinkingly slapped away the hands shaking him. "Hey, knock it off." He protested, squinting and blinking to restore his vision. There came an odd sort of irritated beeping from above, further rousing him from sleep. He lifted his head to see where he was, and froze.

He saw a metal room around him—walls, floor, and ceiling a gleaming silver—and a flat table that he'd been placed on like a crude bed. The room had only one door, and no windows. But that wasn't what concerned him at the moment.

What did was the robot standing not two feet away from him, glowing emerald eyes shimmering in disgust as they watched him. Painted a bright crimson red, it seemed completely different from its predecessor Metal Sonic. Instead of being slicked-down, this one was bulked-up; two massive iron fists ended its arms, which were wide and flat like airplane wings. Five triangular dreadlocks hung down from around its face, whose muzzle stuck out further than Mecha's, yet also ended in a conical spike for a nose. Two separated eyes peered at him beneath thick eyebrows, slanted down in an expression of annoyance. And finally, a white crescent had been painted over its chest, a mockery of its namesake.

Sonic nearly had a heart attack. "Robo Knux!" He gasped, jumping to his feet and backing away from the pseudo-echidna until his back hit the wall with a muted thump. "H-how did—?! Where am—??"

"You're in Robotropolis." The robot sneered. "We brought you here for medical treatment. Heh, you should have seen Mecha-Bot Two when you were first brought in. 'Fit to be tied' didn't do him justice. As I recall, I had to knock him offline at one point because he kept threatening to use his lasers on your life-support mechanisms." He seemed delighted at the memory.

Stunned, Sonic looked down at his body—which had so recently been mauled almost beyond recognition—and saw nothing more than faint traces of white crisscrossing scars where his injuries had been. He slowly traced a finger along one of them. "What did you do to me?"

"It's amazing what technology can do these days, isn't it? Mend broken bones, heal up gashes overnight..."

Now Sonic was really confused, and it showed on his face when he looked back up. "Why? Heal me, I mean. I'm your enemy, aren't I?"

Robo Knux scowled, as if reminded of something unpleasant. "Not…at the moment." He bit out in a restrained voice, coolly turning to stroll out of the room as he clenched his fists. "Follow me."

Sonic didn't move. RK paused when he saw that the hedgehog wasn't following, and turned to give Sonic the benefit of a steely glare. RK pointedly glanced downwards and lifted one of his hands, casually showing off the twin six-inch spikes that graced its primary knuckle-joints like massive razors. "Don't worry—I will not attack you, unless you need some incentive to comply?" This last was said with something akin to hope.

Sonic eyed the claws with a mixture of emotions, then looked back up at his adversary's blank expression. RK was probably the only robot Sonic feared more than Metal Sonic—mainly due to his unpredictability. Uncertain whether to trust the robot or not, Sonic slowly stepped forward and nodded.

RK couldn't hide his disappointment as he pushed a button on the wall, and the metal door slid upwards with a pneumatic hiss. The hallway outside the room was equally as bare as inside, and the blue hedgehog snorted. "Who's Robotnik's interior decorator? I really _must_ get his number."

RK glanced at him for the briefest of moments. "I've never been all that interested in decorations, myself. Ridiculous organic habit." He went silent then and said no more, turning to stride down the hallway at a clipped pace.

Sonic gave him a puzzled stare as he followed the robot through multiple intersecting corridors. RK was being unusually nice to him for some reason he couldn't comprehend. Why? And where was Robotnik?

His answer came as another door opened to reveal Eggman, who was leaning comfortably back in a solid iron chair. The doctor turned to face them with a furrowed brow, fingertips tapping together absently. He appeared to be in deep thought, and though Sonic might have imagined it, worried as well. He looked up with a scowl similar to RK's across his disgustingly bloated face.

"_You._" He spat, jabbing a finger in Sonic's direction as if the mere action could slay his adversary. Sonic stood firm, becoming more and more curious as to what was going on as his fear began to fade. He opened his mouth to give a snide retort, but stopped halfway when Metal Sonic emerged from behind the chair. Red pupils met green. Silence descended.

"Doctor, what is going on?" RK asked with much indignation. "Why are you making us keep him alive?" Sonic looked at the crimson robot in surprise.

"We need him alive…because we need his help." Robotnik admitted in a begrudging sort of way. "Danger is at hand that could destroy us all if unchecked, and only together can we stop it."

"Wow, thanks for _that_ little cryptic statement." Sonic scoffed. "That really helped clear things up."

"Shut up." Robotnik snapped. "Mecha, RK, do you see these readings?" He pressed a button and the security camera's views were replaced by a complex line graph. The lines seemed fairly flat for a good portion of the viewed area, but then began to sharply fluctuate up and down. "These are the most recent data gathered from my security probes near our mini-Zones." He pointed at the spot where the fluctuations began. "This was at around 2:00 a.m. three weeks ago, when a molecular reaction occurred within the Zones' near vicinity."

"So?" Sonic snorted. "What's that got to do with anything?"

"It means, hedgehog, that the borders between zones have begun to drastically weaken. Given another week, or even a few more days, and they will disappear entirely. You know what will happen then." The doctor replied. Sonic sucked in a sharp breath, and Eggman glowered at him. "NOW do you understand the problem?"

Sonic nodded slightly. "Uh…yeah. This is way, _way_ not cool. What can we do?"

"WE can do nothing." Robotnik grunted. "YOU, on the other hand, can go with Metal Sonic to the source of the disturbance, which is somewhere inside the Cosmic Interstate. I can't be any more specific than that, though—my deep scans keep getting scrambled."

Sonic grunted and took a long look over at Mecha. The robot's eyes had flared a few watts in outright anger, causing the blue hedgehog to recoil slightly. "I'm not going ANYWHERE with that robot by myself." He exclaimed.

"Nor I." The robot agreed. "I absolutely refuse to be alone with---with _him_."

Eggman frowned, then waved a dismissive hand. "Oh, very well! RK can go with you two—his built-in energy tracker may be able to assist you once you are in the Interstate itself, anyway."

Sonic gritted his teeth. "I can't believe that I'm about to help you jerks out." He muttered. 'This totally sucks."

Robotnik pressed another button and a far-off buzzer sounded, summoning several SWATbots into the room. "The feeling is mutual, rodent. SWATs, escort him, Metal Sonic and RK to the nearest Interstate portal."

"Wait!" Sonic suddenly cried. "Let me get one of my friends to come—we'll need all the help we can get."

Eggman considered this for a long moment. "Who?"

"Knux. He's also a bit experienced at world-hopping."

"Fine. SWATs, change of plans. Wait outside with a transport to take them to the Floating Island and retrieve the guardian first, THEN take them to the nearest Interstate portal." The robots saluted and marched swiftly from the room. "Now," Eggman hissed, leaning over to bring his face closer to Sonic's, "get out of my sight!"

* * *

"Oh, _lovely_." Daisy muttered, fighting the urge to scream profanity to the heavens. Behind her, the portal winked closed without a sound. In front of her, she peered down the barrel of a wicked-looking gun that had been pointed at her face.

"I, uh…don't suppose we could talk this over?" She attempted.

The robot behind the rifle gave no reply, tightening its finger around the trigger. A battle-cry filled the air suddenly, and a reddish-black blur slammed into the robot.

Daisy jumped backwards into the dense forest undergrowth, scared stiff. The ball uncurled to reveal some odd sort of bipedal animal with black fur and a shiny red shell covering its backside. It lifted a miniature radio and spoke into it while Daisy listened in amazement.

"Knuckles! Quick, where are you??"

A faint reply came floating out of the metal speakers, but Daisy couldn't hear it.

"Listen, Eggman's back!" the animal explained, eyes darting about warily. "I just found one of his robots on the island!" An alarm sounded somewhere far-off, startling them both. A sudden, intense stream of swearing issued from the radio, and both of them winced.

"—of all the frackin' things that could go wrong today!!" The tirade finally ended, as the voice dropped back to a normal volume. The animal listened to it attentively.

"Yes, I took care of it. What? No, I don't know! You will? All right, hurry! Mighty out."

Several tense minutes passed in silence while he watched the sky impatiently, as if waiting for something. Occasionally he would cast a wary glance around before returning to his vigil. Daisy hoped that he wouldn't spot her within the bushes, and cursed her poor choice of clothing. Yellow was not the best color to wear for stealth missions.

_Please don't let him see me, please don't let him see me, pleeeeeaaaaaaase don't let him see me! _She prayed over and over like a mantra.

The animal's gaze scanned her hiding place and moved on…then paused. Suddenly it whirled to stare directly into her eyes, apparently doing a double-take.

Daisy looked to the sky and growled. "See if I ever become a nun," She huffed.

"Knux!" The animal screamed into it's radio again, sounding horrified. "Knux, there's a human here! Mayday! Mayday! Overlander invasion, repeat, OVERLANDER INVASION!"

"Mighty, where the HELL are you?!" The voice on the radio shouted loudly enough for Daisy to hear. "Get out of there! You don't stand a chance against an invasion! We've got the place surrounded and the fly-by's already started, get out NOW!"

A new sound reached them over the siren's wail—a deep bass droning that came from above. Daisy and Mighty looked up, and saw the silhouette of a plane flying against the sun's glare. A sharp whistling of falling objects drifted through the area at the same time.

Mighty's eyes widened. "Oh, no…"

The world caught fire and vanished, or so it seemed to Daisy. The ground wasn't under her feet, she was flying backwards through smoke and flame, pain searing her, screaming…then her head met something hard, and all was darkness.

* * *

Sonic frowned and clapped a hand to his forehead. "Dammit, Knux." He growled, watching the planes near them. He turned to the two robots behind him. "I've seen this strategy before. Those planes are gonna nuke this area, and us with it. You'd better fly up outta the way."

Metal Sonic stayed silent, so RK voiced the obvious question: "What about you?"

The hedgehog flashed them a cocky grin that sent Mecha's hatred protocols into overdrive. "I'll run, duh!" An explosion was heard somewhere nearby, shaking the ground a bit. "I'm gonna go talk to Knux, meetcha at Mushroom Hill in two hours!" He took off at a light jog, slowly building speed for a good solid run. He waved over his shoulder at the two robots as he vanished into the surrounding jungle.

"Right." RK muttered, activating the five mini-rockets built into his dreadlocks and hovering above the ground. "Time to get out of the way of the fireworks." He looked at his robot partner. "Hurry, activate your Booster and let's scram."

"Shut up." Metal Sonic growled. "I don't take orders from you." But he activated his rocket propulsion system in his backside nonetheless. The two fled upwards, just before their former position was raked by fire and ash…

* * *

"Okay…"

Daisy tried to assess her situation. Status, focus on status.

Her left arm lay pinned beneath her in the position she'd landed in, unable to get up. From the lack of sensation coming from that limb, she was pretty certain it was broken or dislocated or something. She'd been tossed clear by the explosion, hit the ground and skidded a ways before coming to a convenient stop at a hard, unyielding boulder. That same boulder she was now sprawled against like a pile of wet leaves, staring ahead with blank, glazed eyes.

Her head hurt; blood was oozing down her face from some unknown injury; her legs, like her arm, felt cut off at the knees; what parts of her skin she could see were badly burnt…

But she was alive.

After pondering all this and considering it all from a scientific viewpoint, Daisy finally managed to come up with a suitable statement to describe her current condition.

"…ow."

Not her best observation, she could have done better. But at the moment she was starting to pass out, so she decided to let it lie.

* * *

Sonic pushed himself to go faster, the shockwave of an explosion tailing at his heels. The heat was incredible. Sweat was pouring off him in rivulets, hitting the flames behind him with a hiss. Fire nipped playfully at his backside, crackling in amusement at his futile attempt to escape.

It dawned on Sonic at that moment, that this might not be as easy as he'd thought.

"Come on, come on, come on, come on…" He chanted to the beat of his shoes against the hard-packed dirt underneath. He looked behind himself. Big mistake.

His feet were hitting solid ground one minute; then he felt nothing but empty air.

Sonic's view of the landscape tilted crazily as he tumbled over and over in freefall. His eyes bulged as his legs slowed down but continued to rotate in running motions, as if they had a hard time believing that there was no longer anything solid beneath their feet. His hands clawed at the air, and he opened his mouth to scream—

"Gotcha!"

Sonic blinked. He looked up, to find he'd been grabbed around the arms by someone. Someone with orange fur. And two tails spinning like helicopter rotors.

"You all right, Sonic?" Miles 'Tails' Prower asked, straining to fly with the extra weight pulling his arms downward.

"Tails!" Sonic gasped, his heart attempting a daring escape from his ribcage through repeated pounding. He swallowed the massive lump of panic that'd lodged in his throat, sucking in breath after breath to ease the fright of his near-death experience. "Oh, wow…talk about timing! Where'd you come from?"

"Believe it or not, I've been looking for you everywhere. Everyone got kinda worried when you didn't come back. I'm glad I found you—Robotropolis was going to be my next stop."

"Er, yeah, about that…"

"Tell me later, 'kay? I've gotta focus on landing."

Sonic spared a nervous glance downwards. The ground, though it was getting closer, was still distant. He gulped.

It took a while, but they eventually landed. Sonic leaped the last five feet to the ground. Good thing, too—Tails felt like his arms were about to fall off.

"Whew! Thanks, big guy." Sonic breathed a sigh of relief. "Thought I was toast for a sec there."

The fox grinned at him, rubbing his shoulders to restore circulation. "Well, I'm a bit surprised you didn't remember about that little dropoff. The same thing happened to you last time we were here, too."

"Last time?" Sonic echoed, confused. Then he looked around himself, at the broken stone pillars scattered around the area. His eyes got big. "Hey, this is Marble Gardens! Oh wow! Man, I haven't been here in ages."

"So. Sonic? Care to explain your sudden vacation?" Tails steered the topic back on-course, folding his arms and arching one eyebrow. Sonic let out a nervous laugh.

"Aheheheh, um, well, it's kinda hard to explain. It's a bit of a long story, too."

Tails shrugged. "Okay, then you can tell me while we head for Knuckles' place. I need to radio the others and let them know you're okay."

"All right then. I need to speak with Rad Red, anyhow." The two headed off, Sonic talking the whole time about his strange adventure.


	16. Chapter Fifteen: Kaboom, Part One

Kaboom!  
The Red World  
(Part One)

"_Magic is a controversial concept, to say the least. Those based in the sciences scoff at the mere mention of it, preferring their proven facts to such mysterious concepts. Others—usually those with experience in matters relying on faith—spend their whole lives in search of it, yearning for that which lies beyond the constraints of our bodies and exists instead in the realm of the mind…"_

—The wizard Merlon, author of _Sorcery for Dummies_

* * *

The two royal Mushroom Kingdom guards glanced uneasily at each other, then back at the new arrivals. There were three of them, all dressed in figure-hiding cloaks with hoods pulled over their heads, casting their faces into deep shadows. It would be impossible to ascertain their identities without pulling the garments off.

"I have not heard of any such kingdom before." The guard on the left spoke up. "How do we know you are actual dignitaries? You could be Koopas in disguise." The second guard narrowed his eyes in thought, shifting his grip on the long spear in one hand until it was pointed towards the strangers in a threatening pose. Clearly, he agreed with his comrade.

"Hey!" One of the strangers growled. "Watch where you're pointing that thing!" A high-tech laser gun escaped its hiding place to point squarely at the guard's ballooned, polka-dotted head. "You should learn some manners, pal." The gun's owner snapped.

The silent guard seemed nonplussed by the strange object being pointed at him. He'd never seen or even heard of a gun in his entire life; he had no reason to fear one. The guard standing next to him let out a short bark of laughter and pointed his own spear at the gunner. "So should you." He grunted. "For the last time, nobody is allowed near the Castle without express permission from either the Chancellor or the Princess. So if you don't have any, then bugger off!"

Another of the strangers sighed. "Look, your princess has something of ours that is very important." He explained. "We're gonna get it whether you want us to or not, so if you at all value your lives you'll let us through before I char you to tiny bits."

The talkative guard sneered. "Oh, 'zat so?"

The stranger nodded slightly. Two powerful-looking, gloved hands flexed themselves from within the folds of the cape he wore. "I mean it. Today's not been a very good day and I'm a little testy. Don't push me."

Even the silent guard had to crack a grin at that remark. His companion was reduced to full-scale laughter. "Oh, that's rich!" He guffawed. "This bunch thinks they can beat us up with some silly little toys! Hilarious!"

"You think this is a _toy_?" The gun's owner demanded, sounding insulted. The person turned and fired the gun at a nearby bush, reducing it to ash in two-point-five seconds. The mirth was wiped off the faces of both guards, who suddenly looked a bit frightened. The gunner twirled the weapon around one finger before switching it over to the other hand and pointing it at the guards again. "Never underestimate my work. Got that?"

Both guards frowned at them, taking up full battle-stances. "All right, then, now see here. Clear off! We don't wanna hurt you." The left one warned.

Finally, the last newcomer let out a sigh. "I didst not wish for this." He sighed. "But if thou must create such difficulties…" He tossed his cloak aside, revealing his short, misshapen body to the soldiers. "…then so be it!"

The other two cast off their disguises as well. The tall one pulled his gloves on tighter and eyed the guards evilly. "I get the one on the right." He claimed, pointing at the Mushroomian in question. "Mutes irritate me."

"The left one is mine," The newly-revealed female gunner growled. "Toy indeed…I'll show HIM a toy!"

The shortest intruder raised a massive broadsword into view, and nodded. "Together, then. Let us strike!" He rushed forward with a cry, followed swiftly by his companions. "HAVE AT THEE!"

* * *

Peach brushed a few loose strands of hair out of her face and sighed.

Back in her room, in her castle, at last. She was home.

She flopped down onto her bed, staring up at the ceiling. So much was weighing on her and the others…could they actually pull this off? Would it work?

Would they live through this?

She rolled over onto her side, trying not to think such depressing thoughts. But they kept returning, more forceful and insistent each time. Her eyes searched through her room for some distraction and came to rest on the sword she'd brought back with her. It lay, carefully cleaned and polished by her attendants, next to its sheath in the corner. Upon leaving Koopa Castle, she'd forgotten all about the weapon until one of her guards had pointed it out to her, still strapped to her back as she arrived at her home.

It was like the sword hadn't wanted to be noticed, somehow…but that was silly. Swords couldn't act on their own. They were just inanimate hunks of metal. Peach closed her eyes, feeling drained and world-weary. Finding that generator could wait; she needed to rest, first.

An image of Mario being sucked up by a black portal, never to return, played itself out behind her eyelids. She snapped her eyes open, heartbeat fluttering. No, sleep was beyond her right now.

She sat up and pressed a hand to her forehead. A minor headache was building up behind her eyes. Perhaps she was worrying too much. Mario and Luigi could take care of themselves. They were the famous Super Brothers. They could handle anything.

She repeated similar reassuring phrases to herself for a few minutes until she began to feel better about the whole situation. Yes, she was merely overreacting. They'd take care of this problem and everything would be okay again. She took a deep breath and held it, then slowly let it out. She should just relax. She should—

BAM. The door to her room slammed open, causing Peach to nearly jump out of her skin. "Breach!" The messenger leaning against her door panted, out of breath from having run the whole way across the castle. "Security breach! Princess, we must get you to a safer place! Hurry!"

"What?" Peach stood up as several guards rushed in and surrounded her in a protective ring, waiting as she grabbed the messenger by the shoulders and held him in place. "What do you mean, security breach? What's going on??"

"Intruders!" The messenger gasped out at last. "At the front gate! They've broken through all our defenses! Hurry, you must seek shelter!"

Peach straightened, face pale. No, not again…she wasn't going to be captured again. Not after having just arrived! "Guards, follow me." She commanded. "We're heading for the Emergency Shelter, Escape Plan 30-A. You," she pointed at the messenger, "tell General Molden to get his squadron in position. Understood?"

The messenger saluted, albeit a bit weakly. "Yes'm."

"Good. Now go!"

The short Mushroomian sprinted off, having finally gained his second wind. Peach watched him go, a frown playing at her mouth. Sometimes, she hated being a Princess.

"My liege," One of the soldiers prodded.

Peach blinked a bit and looked at him. "Right." She muttered. "The escape plan. Okay, let's go! Everyone, keep up!" She ordered as the troops escorted her out into the halls at a run. Their footsteps quickly faded as the shadows cast on the walls by their bodies vanished around a bend.

The area remained silent for a few moments more, until one of the doors in the hallway burst open in a fiery explosion. Three individuals flew through the smoke left behind and landed in the hall with relative ease.

"Heh, that'll teach 'em to try and stop me." The gloved, tall man smirked as he stood up and brushed soot off his armor. "Quite a good workout, I must say. That was the most fun I've had in a while."

"It's not over yet." The female gunner reminded him. She jerked her head in the direction of her shorter companion. "Hey, Glenn! Which way?"

The swordsman let out a strange sound of confusion, a mixture of grunt and croak. "I know not," He admitted, sounding baffled. "The signal is strong, yet I cannot tell from which room it originates!"

"We don't have time to try every single one," The gloved man grumbled. He began to point at the door to each room. "Eenee, meenie, minee, mush! Go kick Ozzie in the tush! If he's not mad, let it lie—otherwise he'll have to DIE!" As he spoke the last syllable, the man's finger came to point towards a door further down the hallway, to their right. Without further delay, the man made a series of complex arm gestures and pointed at that door. In a burst of sudden flame, it exploded into chunks of smoking debris that scattered all over the floor and walls.

The gunner shot him an irritated glance. "You know, you COULD just use your magic to undo the door locks. You don't have to keep blowing them all up."

The magician waved a hand indifferently. "Fine, so I have a flair for the dramatic. What's your point?"

"Aye, let us argue later!" Glenn interrupted. "We must make haste, for our enemies doth follow at our heels!" He dashed inside the room, and a moment later let out a cry of triumph. "Ah-ha! Fellows, come quick! 'Tis in here!"

The gunner and mage entered the room. "Found it? Good." The former said. "Hurry, let's get out of here!" A high-pitched hum emitted from the room for a few seconds, then faded away to silence.

* * *

Peach blinked in confusion. That headache was starting to return again.

She let out a weak groan and leaned against the wall behind her, pinching the bridge of her nose in exasperation as she glared at her Captain of the Guard and best friend, Toad.

"What do you mean, 'they just vanished'?" She demanded at last.

"Exactly what I said." Toad replied. "There is good news, though: The Royal Treasury is intact and the only things broken are the doors."

"That's pointless unless we catch those responsible. They could come back and do more damage." Peach straightened up, trying to compose herself. "Where were they last seen?"

"A couple guards who were on watch claimed they saw the intruders enter your room and not leave it, your majesty. We sent some troops there to capture them, but the interlopers were not there. General Molden reported nobody leaving the premises through any of the entrances. They could not have left without being seen."

"But then where did they go?!" Peach demanded. "Ugh. I'm getting sick of all this magical stuff. Come on, I'm gonna have a look at this for myself."

A short while later Peach came to the hallway leading to her bedchambers. She grimaced as she saw the damage done to the door, and stepped past the charred remnants to look around the room's interior. Nothing seemed out of place…until the bareness of a red plush pillow sitting on her bedside table caught her eye.

"Hey!" She blinked. "They took my sword!"

Toad peeked into the room from behind her. "Why, that's true!" He exclaimed. "How odd."

Peach walked over to the table and stared down at the empty pillow, face a mixture of relief and confusion. "Why would they take a crummy old sword and nothing else?" She muttered. "It doesn't make sense."

"Well, one thing's for sure—this definitely isn't the work of the Koopas." Toad remarked.

"Yeah, I knew that already. But who else could be behind it?"

* * *

A curious beeping welcomed the three intruders back to their hideout. "Greetings, friends." A metallic tone spoke out to them. "Have you accomplished your mission objective?"

"Aye." Glenn answered. '"Twas there, just as we suspected."

"Ooo! Big shiny sword! Bring back for Ayla?" Another voice asked the swordsman.

"W-what??" Glenn sputtered. "No! This be the legendary Masamune, destined for only the true Hero to weld! Hands off, lass!"

"Ugh." The magician grunted, hand pressed to his forehead. "Thank the Gurus we're back. Lucca wouldn't let me kill a single one of the buggers, it was horrible." He tossed some of his long cerulean hair over one shoulder as the gunner rolled her eyes at him behind his back. "I'm gonna go work off some battle tension on Spekkio, now. See ya." His steps faded off into darkness.

"You know, we still don't know how or why that portal took the Masamune in the first place." The gunner named Lucca mentioned once he was gone. "A bit too much of a coincidence, isn't it?"

"Indeed, it doth seem like some evil force be at work here." Glenn agreed. "Let us hope it decides to cease toying with us, and reveal itself as an honorable opponent should."

A feminine snort was Glenn's reply, followed by a burst of giggles in a voice more high-pitched than Lucca's. "Honestly, Frog, I don't think this 'Evil Force' will follow the Knight's Code." It spoke up from a different direction.

Glenn, a.k.a. Frog, paused to consider that. To him it almost sounded alien; where he came from, the Code was such an ingrained part of life that it was difficult to imagine being without it. But he'd seen enough in his recent travels to understand that not all beings think alike. "Hmmm, perhaps thou art right. Nonetheless, far be it from me to allow such an act of cowardice to go unpunished."

"What do you mean?" The metallic voice asked.

"Denying thy opponent a weapon in combat is a most dishonorable act! The one responsible shall need to be taught a lesson in manners." Frog exclaimed, drawing his old broadsword and exchanging it for the one he'd gotten in Peach's bedroom. "Now that the Masamune hast been recovered, I plan to set out on a quest to find and rid the world of the evil presence behind its theft!" Frog turned in a circle to eye each of his compatriots. "Do any of thee wish to accompany me on such a quest?"

One person who'd remained silent up until now stepped forward and nodded, determination evident on his face. Frog grinned at him. "Crono, you have my thanks. I knew thou wouldst volunteer!" He looked around. "Anyone else?"

"Magus would want to go, but he just left." Lucca shrugged. "You might as well take Ayla, Robo or Marle, since they didn't get to go last time."

"Aye, but which one? Only three mayhap use the portals safely." Frog reminded her. A burst of arguing quickly followed as the aforementioned three individuals voiced their reasons for going.

"Hey, I'm a great healer, you know!" Marle pointed out. Dressed in a flimsy powder-blue tube top and loose, airy pants of the same color, it was a wonder she wasn't feeling chilly. She hefted a large crossbow in her arms and grinned, tossing a blond ponytail over her shoulder. "Besides, what if you need a sniper?"

"I can also effectively use firearms and healing techniques, Marle." Robo reminded her. As the name implied, Robo was, well, a robot. Plated with beige, almost rusty metal, he (at least, they assumed he was a 'he'—robots didn't actually have genders) was a bit bulky, it was true—but also very powerful. In effect, a walking, talking tank. With radar. And all sorts of useful gadgets. Like James Bond's ultimate companion.

But despite his boasts of strength, Robo was only the penultimate powerhouse of the team. He freely admitted to being weaker than the scantily-clad cavewoman who spoke up after him. "Ayla bored!" She whined pitifully. Not the most effective argument, but Ayla was never one for verbal debate. She tended to let her fists talk for her most of the time.

Finally, Frog picked Robo. "He can heal, and he doth harbor powerful attacks; a good combination of Marle and Ayla's best qualities." He explained as the two unpicked women glared at him.

Robo blinked his blue-green optics. "Thank you very much. I have been eagerly anticipating a chance to experience these new worlds for myself. It will be quite…educational."

"Indeed." Frog spoke, sounding amused.

But a new twist was yet to occur; cheated of her position as the third team member, Marle looked to the red-haired, katana-welding swordsman for help. "Crono…" The boy turned to face her with some degree of wariness. Whenever her voice took on that tone, it usually meant trouble for him.

"Can I go instead of you?" Marle begged, putting on her most pathetic doe-eyed expression. "Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease?"

Crono gave Frog/Glenn a helpless look. The high-speaking knight let out a croaking laugh. "It appears the lass doth have thee in a pickle." He grinned, waving his hands. "Seek not my aid; I have no skill in such matters!"

Crono grimaced, like a man sentenced to hang, and turned to face the full brunt of Marle's 'Poor Me' Begging Routine™. Luckily, he was saved by a third party.

The magician from the previous mission came striding back out of the shadows, looking slightly bruised but otherwise no worse for wear. Frog's mirth diminished considerably upon seeing him. "Hail, Magus. What business have thee with us now? Did thee lose thine battle with Spekkio so soon?"

"You wish. The guy may claim he's a God of War and all that, But he sure seems to be getting less difficult to beat these days. Or maybe he's going easy on me because I'm facing him alone. I'm inclined to believe the former, though…" Magus smirked. Frog rolled his bulbous eyes and turned to leave, but Magus' voice stopped him. "Oh, by the way, you guys forgot something."

Irritated, Frog turned back to face him. "Well? What be it, then? We must be off!"

Magus pulled one of his gloves on tighter. "You need me to actually open the stupid portals, remember? I _have_ to be in on whatever silly little adventure that you're taking if you actually plan on getting anywhere. Your time machine doesn't move between dimensions."

Frog gave the gunner of their group a surprised and questioning glance. "Is this true, Lucca? Thou said that it was possible for the Epoch to achieve such a feat."

The young female inventor let out an embarrassed cough. "Well, it IS possible for us to cross dimensions in Epoch…but it'd be very risky. With some more time, I could spruce the ship's mechanics up so it could safely transport several people."

Frog decided to press his luck. "When thou say 'risky', what dost thou mean?"

"Well, if we try it as-is, we might get killed."

Frog frowned. So much for that. "Curse it all! Why must the Fates ally themselves with this vile urchin?!" He raged, pointing in Magus' direction. The mage's current expression of smugness lit a fury in his brain, and he truly had to fight to suppress the battle-honed instincts currently urging him to unsheathe his sword and chop it off.

Crono looked heavenward and gave a sigh of incredible relief. Then he turned to give Marle a shrug, as if to say "It's out of my hands." Magus stepped up next to Frog and Robo to take his place, as the blonde pouted at them all to show her unhappiness.

Robo blinked a bit in what could possibly be called amusement. "As I believe Master Spekkio would say…'Dems de breaks', Lady Marle." He chirped.

"Robo, how many times have we told you to knock off the 'Lady' stuff?!" Lucca growled.

"Forgive me, but it would be improper to—"

"Let us not tarry any longer!" Frog broke in. "Magus, the spell!"

"Yeah, yeah, just hold your wart-ridden tail for a freakin' minute. It takes time to charge up." He said no more after that, concentrating his focus singly on the task at hand as Frog sputtered in indignant fury beside him.

"Okay, there we go." He grunted at last, making one last arm gesture and pointing at the spot where he wanted the portal to appear. "C'mon, let's get this over with."

The glowing rift opened with a soft hum. Frog leaped through immediately, with Robo trundling in behind shortly afterwards. Magus gave the rest of the group a mocking two-finger salute before tossing his cloak over one shoulder and leaping into the rift. The hum faded away a few moments later as the portal disappeared, leaving them alone.

* * *

The bitter Alaskan winds howled without mercy, their constant snowfall mixing with a half-frozen rain to create a numbing sleet that froze limbs and turned men into statues.

Standard weather, as far as Paul was concerned. Life as a special-ops recruit wasn't without such hardships. But he was used to it. The cold might've forced a different, less-prepared person into the later stages of frostbite and hypothermia—but not him. He'd gotten a special injection that took care of all that...he didn't even feel the low temperature much by now. The specifics of that shot's contents eluded him, but he didn't care as long as they worked correctly.

He shuffled a bit to obtain a more comfortable position, leaning up against the wall behind him. His FAMAS rifle rested in both of his gloved hands, the barrel pointed harmlessly at the ground. Nothing important had happened today, nothing to note of…Paul yawned. As dynamic as the environment might seem to a tourist or other such visitor, it was rather monotonous to someone who'd lived there a while. Still, he had to keep alert. One never knew what might happen if they let their guard drop, even for a moment. Unlike some of his comrades who allowed themselves to sleep at their posts, Paul felt a sort of patriotic duty towards his superiors. He'd follow his orders without question, should they even lead to his death.

Sometimes, however, such dedicated obedience proved tiring. Even Paul couldn't deny that.

He cocked his head from side to side to work the kinks out of his neck and slowly stretched, feeling his joints pop as the tension was eased from them. Maybe he should get the next guy on shift to take over from here. What was his name…Johnny. Yeah, Johnny Sazaki. The guy owed Paul a favor, anyhow. He could call Johnny, have him come over, and…

…what was that?

Paul blinked, then lifted his gun to point out into the snowy abyss. He'd heard something. Might've been his imagination, or maybe it was one of those native wolves that prowled the area. Stupid dogs always kept making trouble for guys like him, never knew when to stop hunting for prey.

…No, wait. There it was again! It wasn't a wolf. Sounded metallic. Like banging on a metal surface or something. Paul swiveled his head around, suddenly cursing the poor weather that obscured his vision to less than five feet in front of his face. Anything could be out there, and he wouldn't know what it was until too late…

Okay, stay calm. Focus. Remember your training. Paul lifted his radio, then reconsidered. Maybe he should check out the disturbance first. He'd feel pretty silly if he called in a false alarm to Security for no good reason.

He slowly, hesitantly moved forward. The winds and sleet enveloped him in white, soft powder mixed with hard cores of ice. Paul gritted his teeth. Great, now it was starting to hail. This was making him more irritated by the second. If this turned out to be a prank, he'd cap the guy responsible.

Inch by careful inch, he covered the damp earth, leaving tracks behind him to be slowly hidden by new precipitation. There came the sound again—definitely some sort of metallic _clank _sound. It was coming from ahead of him, and to his left. He continued forward, and a boxlike shape appeared through the blizzard; a stack of crates. So that was what the 'metallic surface' was. Now, where was the thing that had been banging on it?

Paul almost turned around to head back to his post and chalk the whole thing up to coincidence, but something in the snow caught his eye.

A footprint?

He slung his rifle over one shoulder and bent down to take a close look. Yes, definitely a footprint. The pattern left by the sole was not from any boot used by his teammates, either. It was alien. Recent, too.

Paul straightened up quickly, heart beginning to flutter as blood pounded in his veins. Someone else was here, someone who should not be. The adrenaline rush came to him swift and hard. An intruder. Here! Right here!

Instead of feeling scared or nervous, Paul felt excited. Finally, a chance to prove himself! He and his teammates had been trained with virtual-reality exercises but hadn't had any real battle experience. An encounter with an intruder would be a welcome change to Paul's tedious and dull everyday routine, as well as a valuable learning experience for later.

His rifle was unslung and back in his hands as fast as his honed reflexes could make it, the rubber-coated handles comforting him with their mere presence. More footprints surrounded the first, all leading him on a path away from the crates and around a rocky crag up ahead.

Looks like that radio call would be a good idea after all. Paul lifted the device to his mouth as he crept forward, following the footprint trail to wherever it led. "Base, this is Agent Rogozinski at the Heliport. Possible intruder activity has been—urk!"

The last was a surprised grunt that was forced from Paul's lips as a pair of hands slipped around him from behind, quickly snapping his neck. He dropped to the snow, lifeless, as his slack fingers released the radio that was now buzzing in distress.

"What's the matter? Agent Rogozinski?? Respond!" The person at the other end of the line demanded. "Agent Rogozinski! Do you copy?"

Paul's murderer stood above him, glaring at his inanimate corpse without remorse. His gray bandanna whipped around his head wildly, as if attempting a desperate escape from its wearer. The cold, steely eyes just below it narrowed in thought as the radio operator began to request backup be sent to Rogozinski's post. One of the boots whose prints had been so unfamiliar to Paul lifted itself up and stomped on the radio, smashing it to pieces.

"Hmph." The intruder grunted in a low, scratchy tone, lifting two fingers to press against his right ear. "Guess my cover's blown, then."

"You sure didn't waste any time getting discovered, did you?" A voice spoke in the man's ear, though only he alone heard it. "Looks like the jig's up. Better hide somewhere."

"Copy that, Colonel. I'll lay low for a bit." The man agreed. "Anything else I should know?"

"Only the common-sense stuff. You don't want to use the guards' guns, as they make too much noise without silencers equipped. Although if they already know you're there, I don't suppose it matters…"

"Still, I'd rather sneak past these guys than kill them. I've got too many dog tags on my conscience as-is." The man looked behind himself in surprise as he heard the distant shout of voices, slowly getting louder. "Look, I'll talk to you later, Colonel. Gotta scram."

"Agreed. Be careful, Snake." The miniature radio shut itself off.

* * *

"Okay, Kamek. You hid these things, so you'd know where to start looking."

"Indeed I do, Princess." The magikoopa nodded. He, along with Peach and a number of the Mushroom Kingdom's military generals were seated in one of the castle's meeting rooms. "Our world's generator is within Dark Land."

"Figures." Peach muttered. "Will you help us find it?"

"I can't, unfortunately. I taxed myself too much with that portal-opening stunt and need to rest for a few days before I'll be able to do anything more than walk and talk. But, I can show you where it is and point you in the correct direction."

Peach sighed. It was the best deal she was going to get. "Do that, then."

* * *

Magus scratched his head in confusion. "Ummm…"

"How in the nine Hells didst thee land us in THIS place?!" Frog exclaimed, staring around at the foreign surroundings. Wherever they were, he knew for sure that it was NOT the destination he'd had planned.

"Look, it's not as easy as it looks to direct those portals, okay? I had enough trouble finding that dimension last time, even WITH the Masamune acting as a beacon for me to lock on to. Besides," Magus added with a frown, "this was all your idea anyway."

Frog attempted to calm down. "Very well, forgive my rashness. Would thou be so kind, then, as to conjure up a return portal?"

Magus shrugged. "Yeah, sure. Hold on." That complex series of arm gestures occurred again, followed by The Point.

There was a silent pause, as absolutely nothing happened.

Magus blinked. "What the…?" He tried again. Nothing.

Despite his best efforts, Frog was beginning to feel panic coming on. "What? What is the matter?"

Magus looked sheepish. "Um, whoops. I think I might be out of magic power…"

"WHAT??"

"Well, I forgot to use an Ether after that fight with Spekkio, so…"

Another pause.

"Dost thou mean," Frog began in a slow voice, "that we are STUCK here?!"

Robo beeped, processing a large chunk of data. "Probability of Magus opening another portal at current magic levels: less than 0.0001 percent." He paused, calculating the best course of action. "Affirmative. Current party is stranded until suitable energy replenishing sources are found or Magus regains enough energy through rest. It is recommended that we seek suitable accommodations for camping tonight, and wait until tomorrow to return home." He peered at Frog, curious as to what his reaction to this news might be.

Surprisingly, the knight grew calm again. He sighed. "Very well, if such is our fate." He drew his sword and planted it in the ground so it stood upright, the blade glowing with energy as it cut through the solid metal and cement. "Robo! Could thou scan for enemies, if thee please?"

* * *

Snake peeked around a corner, eyeing yet another unsuspecting guard. He double-checked his SOCOM pistol to make sure the silencer was still in place, and that he had a full magazine of ammo attached. Couldn't be too careful. He looked up again, seeing that the guard was just about to walk into his range of fire. He tensed, preparing to jump from his hiding place and start shooting.

RING-RING. A sharp noise sounded in Snake's head, breaking his concentration. He blinked. "Urgh! Damn!" He cursed, watching as the guard walked out of view. Irritated, he placed two fingers up behind his ear to activate his Codec radio. "Yeah, what do you want? This had better be good."

"Snake! It's me."

The man gave a mental sigh. He knew that voice. "What do you want, Otacon?"

"Wow, you're not gonna believe this…"

"Try me."

"Well," Otacon snickered, "we've got some unexpected company."

Snake's interest perked up a bit. "Really?" He took a quick look around the corner; nobody there. He turned back to his hiding place. "Who?"

Otacon took a peek out of the slits in the locker he'd hidden in. It afforded him a somewhat obstructed view of the outside. Through it, two beings were currently visible. "Some guy with gloves, and a robot." He answered.

Snake's response was purely reactional. "What the hell?!"

"I told you so." Otacon smiled.

"A robot?" Snake demanded. "Is it that ninja? Gray Fox?"

"No, this one is different. It looks like a completely mechanical creation."

"And the man with gloves? What does he look like?"

"Well," Otacon pushed his glasses back up onto his nose to see better, "he's got blue hair, just like in some of my Japanese animes…"

Snake placed his free hand on his forehead. "Unbelievable. This sounds completely ridiculous." Snake opened another frequency. "Colonel, are you and Naomi hearing this?"

"Yes." The elderly man's voice answered. "Those people are not members of FOXHOUND, I'm afraid. Whoever they are, they're intruders."

"Just like me…" Snake muttered.

The voice of a narrow-eyed, buisnesslike Asian woman suddenly contacted Otacon's Codec. "Dr. Emmerich, be careful. Don't let them see you." Dr. Naomi Hunter warned him.

"Relax," The scientist reassured her. "I've got my Stealth Camouflage equipped. I'll be okay."

"Can you see what they're doing from where you are now?" The Colonel asked.

"Um…no, not really. They've moved out of view. Wait, hold on." There was a pause. "There's one of them now. Hmmm, short little fella, must be a midget. He's wearing a cape or something, I can't really see him from this angle. Let's see, he's currently looking around the room, not really doing much of…uh-oh, wait, he's coming this way! Yikes!"

"Art thou sure, Robo?" A voice was asking in the background. "There be another person in the vicinity?"

Beeping responded to this query, barely heard over Otacon's quickening breaths. "Affirmative. Thermal scans indicate a humanoid present within that locker."

At one end of the comm. link, Snake's expression darkened. "Otacon! Get out of there, NOW!"

"I can't, it's too late! There's nothing I can do, Snake! They know I'm here!" The sound of the locker's door opening cut into the transmission at that moment, halting any reply Snake may have wanted to make.

The three listeners held their breaths. Silence seemed to be the only answer to their tensions for several moments. Finally:

"Robo, thine sensors mayhap need fixing. There be no one here."

More beeping. "Negative. All sensors working within normal parameters. Possible cloaking technology may be present."

"Cloaking?" A third, alien voice broke in. "Is that possible? I thought that technology died with the fall of Zeal…"

"Hmm…what be this 'cloaking' thou speaketh of?" The first voice asked.

"Invisibility." Said the third voice. "Let's find out if someone's there or not, shall we?"

The next few sounds were a jumble of confusion to Snake, Naomi, and the Colonel. First there was some banging, followed by a muffled 'oof'! Then the three voices began to shout, accompanied by the sounds of some sort of scuffle. Ten seconds into this strange auditory mix, the radio link to Otacon abruptly cut off.

"Otacon?? Otacon!" Snake demanded. "Otacon, can you hear me?!"

"Snake! Otacon's in trouble!" The colonel exclaimed. "You have to rescue him! He's the only one who knows how to stop Metal Gear and the nuclear missile launch!"

"DAMNIT!" Snake growled, resisting the urge to bang a fist into the floor—the sound would surely attract unwanted attention. That didn't stop him from softly-yet-vehemently cursing, though. "Of all the lousy timing…" He paused for a few moments to compose himself, then pressed two fingers behind his ear to reply. "Copy that, Colonel. I'm on my way. Where did his last transmission come from?"

"Mei-Ling's tracking it down now, but she'll need some more time to get a precise location. All we know for certain right now is that it came from somewhere on the second sublevel of the Nuclear Storage Facility. Head there first, and then we'll try to pinpoint it further. Good luck, Snake."

"And be careful." Naomi added, just before the Codec went silent.

* * *

"AHHHH!" Otacon whimpered as he was held up in the air by his neck. "D-don't kill me, puh-please!"

Magus sneered. "Give me one good reason not to."

Frog unsheathed the Masamune. "Magus! Still thy hand!" He warned with a dark glare. "We doth not yet know whether he be friend or foe. Do not take such hasty action!"

Robo beeped. "Analysis is in agreement with Frog's statement. Suggested course of action: Question him."

"Could I torture him a bit? It'd be kinda fun." Magus' eyes took on a sinister gleam.

"If he comes to harm, thy life shall be forfeit." Frog growled.

Magus snorted. "Spoilsport." Almost carelessly, he released Otacon and let him fall to the floor. The scientist frantically backed up until his back hit the wall, where he cowered in fear.

"D-d-don't hurt me."

Frog put the Masamune back in its scabbard, walking forward to stand in front of Otacon. "That all depends on who thou art. What be thy name?"

"M-my name? It's…" Otacon looked up and good a good look at Glenn for the first time. "…AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" He screamed, visibly recoiling and kicking out at the knight. "Get it away, get it away!"

Magus burst into laughter. Otacon, like so many other unfortunates before him, had just discovered how well Glenn lived up to his nickname—his features were identical to those of a frog. Needless to say, the green skin, bulbous yellow eyes with black slits, and webbed digits on his hands and feet made him appear monstrous and frightening at first glance.

Frog was not amused. "Be still!" He snapped, grabbing Otacon's feet and holding them in place with a surprising amount of strength. "Calm thyself, sir! I am not what thou thinkest I am."

Otacon blinked. "Huh? It talks?"

Frog gritted his teeth. "Aye. Will thou please cease thine kicking now?"

Otacon stared. The scientist in him suddenly overshadowed his survival instinct. "WOW…a-are you an alien?"

Magus was overcome with a second fit of laughter and had to lean against the wall to steady himself. Frog frowned at him. "Nay, I am as human as thou art. An unfortunate…accident, thee might say, has resulted in this form of mine."

Otacon adjusted his glasses. "Amazing…that must have been _some_ accident!"

Magus shrugged, still chuckling. "Well, anything's possible when magic is involved."

Otacon blinked, now looking at the wizard with a skeptical expression. "Magic?"

_BWAAAAAHM! BWAAAAHM!_ Blared numerous alarms, as red lights flashed throughout the room. Startled, everyone jumped slightly and looked around in surprise.

It was Robo who spotted the problem first. A panel on his arm slid aside, as a laser cannon lifted into view from beneath it. He quickly blasted the cameras that had been placed near the ceiling.

"We have been detected by security." He reported in his calm monotone.

Magus let out a vulgar curse that had Frog recoiling from him in shock. "I can't use my spells against the guards, either!" The mage growled, unbuckling a curved scythe from his backside. "We'll have to fight our way out."

Frog shot Otacon a worried look. "It is a pity we did not have more time to talk with thee, good sir. Thou had best hide thineself again." That said, he and the others rushed from the room, leaving one very confused scientist behind.


	17. Chapter Sixteen: Next Mission, Part One

Next Mission  
(The Orange World)  
Part One

"_Aran? Half the things I've heard about her would make a Zamog's blood freeze. Believe me; it may not look like it, but she is definitely not someone you'd wanna meet in a back alley."_

—Chippery Joe, Bartender of _The Sleazy Weasel_, on Planet Kyrgystan

* * *

Bowser stomped out of the portal warily, wondering what lay in wait for him here. One thing was immediately certain; it was dark. Very dark.

Bowser smiled. He liked the dark. He liked it because he'd been gifted at birth with very acute night-vision, which meant he could see perfectly fine at times when his enemies might as well be blind.

He looked around. Metal walls, ceiling, and floor. _How original_, he thought sarcastically. Metal cables wrapped in rubber dully gleamed through the many cracks in these walls. The floor was torn up and uneven, with sharp pieces jutting out haphazardly. A row of computers stood silent at one side. At the other, was a door. An odd door. Bowser blinked at it. It was shaped like a half-circle force field, perfectly round on the side facing him. A control panel was set into the wall next to it.

A distant rumble vibrated the floor. Bowser gave a snort of smoke. What had that been? An explosion of some sort?

His answer walked through the forcefield a second later, and he froze in surprise.

Red armor, massive shoulders, two pipes leading up beneath an odd-shaped helmet. A glowing green visor, spikes on the knees, and the most distinctive feature of all, a left arm that had been replaced with some sort of gun. Someone within the unit seemed to sigh.

"God, not another one. How many of these things are around here, anyway?"

Bowser blinked. "Huh?"

The stranger pointed its gun-arm at him, and light began to build within it. Bowser mentally cursed and threw himself to the side as a missive energy ball blazed past his former position, charring the floor and walls.

The stranger growled. "Damn, it's fast…"

Bowser stood up and waved his claws in the air. "Hey, hey! What's the big idea?!" He threw a short wave of flame-breath at the armored person, meant to ward them off more than anything else. "Stop shooting at me, dammit!"

The person leaped backwards and spoke in surprise. "Whaaat? It talks?!"

"Well, of _course _I can talk! Who do you think I am?!"

"Another random monster come to make my life miserable."

"Well, you're _wrong._ I'm just lost, that's all. Where am I?" If Bowser looked hard enough, he could see through the helmet's green visor to find the human inside the suit blinking in confusion.

"This is extremely unusual," The stranger muttered. Something clicked in Bowser's mind, and it occurred to him that this person must be female, judging by her voice. She looked hard at him. "First I find a monster that looks like it came out of an M. C. Escher sketch, then I discover it _talks_, and now it wants to be all buddy-buddy with me."

Bowser shrugged. The armored human eyed him warily. "Are you a Space Pirate?"

Bowser cracked a grin, as if he'd just been told a humorous joke. Then he began to laugh. "_Space Pirate_? Sweet talking fungi, that is a REALLY corny name! What is it?"

"Guess not." The stranger murmured. She continued to watch him with suspicion. "You don't look very friendly, you know." She pointed out, indicating the many spike bracelets adorning him. The Koopa King snorted.

"Neither do you, with that gun of yours."

The human arched an eyebrow. "Touchè. All right, so how'd you get here then?"

"That's…a long story."

"And I don't have enough time to listen to long stories." The human agreed. Another slight vibration shook the area, and she cursed. "Dammit. Time to go!"

"Wha? Hey, wait a minute!" Bowser called out as the stranger raced past him to the other end of the room. "Where are you going?"

"Sorry, can't stick around to chat! I suggest you get moving too, though!" She called out before vanishing through another force-field door.

Another, more violent rumble caused pieces of loose metal paneling to fall from the ceiling. Bowser looked around nervously. Suddenly, he had to agree with the strange armored woman: strategic retreat DID seem like an awfully good idea.

He fled, hitting the force field the woman had gone through with a fist to open it. To his surprise, she was waiting for him on the other side.

"Huh." She remarked while arching both eyebrows, clearly impressed. "You show signs of self-preservation, too. Now I KNOW you're not like anything I've ever met." Somehow, despite the fact that her face was obstructed by the helmet, Bowser could tell she was grinning. "I know a bunch of guys that would just love to study you."

Bowser blinked, and the human elaborated. "By 'study', I of course mean 'put you on a lab table and poke and prod you with sharp pointy instruments until you reveal what, exactly, you are'."

Bowser looked apprehensive. "I think I'll pass, thanks."

"Yeah, my sentiments exactly. But they'd never forgive me if I just left you here alone to wander off and get killed. I'll need to radio them to make sure, but I'm pretty certain they'd want me to take you back to HQ after the mission."

The massive Koopa's curiosity sparked. "What mission?"

"Oh nothing big." The armored human replied while absently charging up her gun-arm. "Just the task of hunting down all the evil mutant monsters on this station and killing them off, that's all." She smiled at Bowser's gaping look. "My name's Samus Aran, by the way. I'd ask if you've heard of me, but you probably haven't."

"You're right about that. I am Bowser, also known as the King of the Koopa Clan."

Samus looked shocked. "Clan? There's MORE of you?"

"Well, not like _me._ I'm kinda, um, big for my species. But I have a family and many subordinates similar to me under my rule, yes."

Samus tensed as another familiar tremor passed through the room. "Uh-oh." She hissed. "We've stayed here too long." She grabbed Bowser's arm with her non-gun left arm. "We need to get moving! Come on!"

Bowser blinked again. It seemed, he realized after a moment of reflection, that he'd been doing that a lot since he'd arrived at...wherever he was. This prompted another question from him as he followed Samus through several hallways and force-fields. "Where are we, anyway?"

"Ssh!" She hushed him, making frantic motions for him to lower his voice. He did so, and repeated his question.

"Where are we?"

Samus flattened herself against a wall, and ever-so-slowly peeked around a corner. After apparently making sure it was all clear, she sighed and answered quietly.

"An orbital space station around planet SRX-388. It's the third one that's been built, in fact."

Bowser was almost afraid to ask his next question: "What happened to the first two?"

Samus grimaced, but didn't reply. Motioning for him to follow, she rounded the bend and opened another force-field. This one led to a small room with a human-sized tubular device standing vertically in its middle. One half of the tube had been retracted, allowing someone to place themselves inside the half-pipe.

Samus seemed to brighten up upon seeing the device. They entered the room, and she quickly accessed the control panel on the room's inside wall next to the force-field they'd come through. As a pneumatic _hiss _indicated the field had sealed itself shut, she visibly relaxed. "Oh thank God." She breathed, pointing at the tubular device. "We've found a Recharge Pod."

"A what?" Bowser asked.

"Samus gestured at her suit. "Hey, this thing doesn't run on air, you know. It needs to be recharged every once in a while, like right now."

"So you're just gonna take it off and put it in that thing?"

Samus rolled her eyes at him. "Nah, Recharge Pods were designed to work with space suits while the human's still inside. It'll just recharge my own energy along with the suit. Won't take but a minute."

Bowser gave another classic Blink of Confusion. "Um…?"

"Here, I'll demonstrate." Samus walked up to the half-tube's opening, turned so her back was facing the curved inside of the tube, and stepped backwards inside it. She pressed a few buttons on her gun arm, leaned back, and after giving Bowser a quick wink, closed her eyes.

A deep humming filled the air as the lights of the Pod slowly came on one-by-one. Samus' suit glowed with a yellow, electric light as energy from the machine filled the red armor's batteries. Thirty seconds later, the light show stopped and Samus opened her eyes. She stepped out of the tube, looking more alert and energetic than before. "There." She muttered. "Ready to go. It beats sleeping for eight hours, let me tell you."

Bowser was awed. "I have _got _to get one of those."

Samus frowned. "Um, I don't think you're quite the size for it." Indeed, the Koopa King towered over her by nearly four feet and, she estimated, at least 300 pounds.

Bowser looked at the Pod, which was miniscule by comparison. He began to feel sheepish. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"We're safe here, for now." Samus commented, while checking something on her gun-arm. "It'll take those monsters a long time to find us here." She finished whatever it was she had been doing, and gave Bowser a pointed look. "So, would you mind explaining where you came from, how the hell you ended up _here_ of all places, and why?"

"I'm telling you, it really _is_ a long story." That statement was usually enough to get one of his Koopas to stop asking about the subject.

Unfortunately, Samus was a bit more insistent than he was used to. "And I'm telling _you_, I really don't care." She shot back, folding her arms and tapping one foot. "C'mon, spill."

"Fine. But you've been warned."

* * *

"Gah! Enough already! Have mercy!" Samus groaned nearly an hour later. "My brain's gonna explode if you say any more!"

"I _did_ warn you."

"Oh, shut up." She snapped. A sudden beeping emerged from her helmet, startling them both. "What the—? An incoming transmission?" Samus blinked. "I thought we were the only sentient beings left on this station…"

"Someone's calling you?" Bowser guessed, his suspicions confirmed when she gave him a brief nod.

There was silence for several moments. Bowser squinted his eyes, trying to make out what Samus' face looked like behind her visor. If he looked hard enough, he could almost see—

"We have to get out of here. Now." Samus uttered, following up the declaration with a sudden oath. She ran over to the door and opened it, casting a hasty look outside before turning back to Bowser and beckoning him forward. "Come on!"

"What's the rush?" The Koopa King asked as they fled full-tilt through the dull metal hallways.

"That was HQ." Samus reported through clenched teeth. "Apparently they decided it wasn't worth it to keep this station intact after all. They're gonna blow it up, T-minus five minutes."

"WHAT?" Bowser gasped, stumbling and almost falling on his face before he recovered. "When did this happen?!"

"They decided to do it about ten minutes ago. Jerks never told me about the possibility that they'd do something like this, I hadn't counted on them being that stupid."

"What do you mean?" Bowser demanded. They paused to open another door, and Samus turned to look at him.

"The only weapons capable of doing effective damage to a station of this size are nuclear warheads." The door opened, and she continued talking as they dove through it, casting wary looks about themselves. "The effects of the blast will be dampened in outer space, but nonetheless we will need to be at least 7 miles away from ground zero when the bomb goes off in order to survive its accompanying radiation."

Bowser had no idea what a 'nuclear warhead' was, but he guessed it was not good. "Can we make it?"

"Maybe." They found an open elevator and entered it, Bowser silently grateful that it was large enough to fit his massive bulk. Samus hit the button to go down.

Nothing happened.

The red-armored bounty hunter frowned, pushing the button again. No response. "Dammit," She hissed. "Come on, we'll use the ladders."


	18. Iced Over: A Chilling Interlude

Iced Over  
(A chilling interlude)

"…_Because it is there."_

—Sir Edmund Hillary

* * *

The polar bear snarled and lunged forward with a roar. Unfortunately, its prey was just a bit too fast for it, and dodged away before its teeth could find their way to a jugular vein or something worse. He leaned on a large wooden mallet and breathed heavily, worn-out. "It's…too…big…" He panted, breath fogging the air and coating the hood of his blue parka with frost. "I'm…done…for…"

Another person was suddenly there, standing between him and the bear. "Don't worry bro!" She chirped, cute face showing her determination. "I'm here for you!"

"Careful…Nana…" Her brother warned. "It's fast…" He looked down, worry creasing his face. "I just barely managed to dodge it most of the time. Try going for the legs, that usually—" He stopped short as he looked back up and saw his sister standing triumphant over the unconscious bear, dusting off her pink parka that was identical to his save for color.

"Sorry, did you say something?" She asked.

"Ugh." The boy grunted, slowly standing up. "Just forget it." He eyed his sister. "How'd you do that, though?"

Nana didn't seem to hear him, staring upwards distractedly. "Popo…?" She asked, pointing in the direction she was looking. "What is that…?"

Popo looked up, to see a massive cloud of blackness slowly traveling across the sky in their direction. His mouth dropped open. "Whoa…" He paused for a moment before finally replying, "Whatever it is, it doesn't look friendly."

Within the cloud, countless red eyes opened. All of them fixed upon the pair, who stopped moving and stared back.

Popo's eyes slowly widened. Nope, it _definitely_ didn't look friendly.

"P-Popo…" Nana whimpered, beginning to visibly shake. "I'm s-scared…" Her brother grabbed her hand, his grip tight with terror. His face was as white as the downy fur around the edges of his parka.

"There's a cave behind us. Run for it." Popo said in a rush. Nana didn't move, so he jerked her into motion with a sharp tug on her arm. "Come on!"

The two turned and began to flee, but they knew they had little chance of success even before they began. Their feet slammed into the snow over and over, the sharp spikes on their undersoles digging in and giving the duo traction. They were maybe a hundred yards from the cave, a dark hole in the side of the mountain, offering shelter and safety if they could only reach it.

Nana sobbed as she ran, tears streaming across her face as she gripped her brother's hand as hard as she could. She could still feel the eyes in that cloud watching her, examining her, as if amused by their attempted escape.

She looked over her shoulder and screamed. The cloud was getting closer, those eyes inside it glowing with an evil red energy focused into their cat-like, slitted pupils.

"Don't look back! Keep going!" Popo yelled, urging her onward. "We're almost there!" He kept his eyes fixed steadily forward, not daring to risk a backwards glance like his sister had, watching the cave loom closer, so tantalizingly close!

The cloud began to descend.

Some detached, scientific portion of Nana's mind marveled at it, noting how much it seemed like a thick, swirling, opaque fog. It lowered itself down from the sky until it reached the ground behind them; a wall of dark mist. At first it was content to match their pace, but then it slowly began to inch closer. Nana watched as some of the red eyes on the cloud's surface closed to make room for new ones opening in other spots. All of them were getting nearer, and she was unable to look away from the horrifying sight. She screamed again.

The fog stretched out wispy tendrils, clutching at her shoulders, arms, and back. They felt like ice, even through her parka. She half-wailed, half-sobbed as she lashed out, trying to unseat their grip. But the mist proved relentless, and continued to advance upon her. "Popo!" She screeched, watching as the chill blackness below one red eye swallowed her arm and began to creep up her shoulder. "Popo, H-HELP ME…! POPO!!"

But her brother couldn't turn and look. His mind was closed to all but the task of reaching the cave, focusing so intensely on it that he was unaware of his surroundings. _We're going to make it,_ he thought frantically. _We're going to make it, we're going to make it, we're going to…NO!_

His thoughts turned from hope to horror as the fog exerted a tremendous amount of force, pulling him backwards by his grip on Nana's arm, which was now the only part of her not covered by the darkness. To Popo it felt incredible, unstoppable; like the entire combined might of an avalanche, all concentrated into one single motion. It nearly ripped his whole arm out of its socket as he was yanked right off his feet.

"NOOOOO!" Popo howled, stretching an arm out in front of him, as if to touch the cave not ten feet away. So close! So _close_…!

"POPO!" Nana screamed as her brother was pulled into the cloud with her, the darkness engulfing them completely, shutting out all light. Her brother's hand was torn away, leaving her to grope emptily in the void and flail her limbs out of desperation. "NOOO, NOOOOOOO! POPOOOOOOO_AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!_"

The pain came fast and hard, hitting her whole body. As if from far away, she heard her brother's screams mingling with her own.

Then all sensation vanished, and Nana knew no more.


	19. Chapter Seventeen: Knowledge Is Power, P...

Knowledge Is Power  
(The Yellow World)  
Part Two

"_There are good reasons why it is so important to foster a healthy relationship with your Pokèmon. Apart from the practical effects that such a relationship can have, such as improved battle performance and such, there have been documented instances of what can only be described as a sort of 'link' developing between Pokèmon and trainers who are close friends with one other. This connection is not as obvious as mind-reading, nor as precise as knowing each other's location at any time; but rather is a vague sense of the other's emotional state during moments of great stress. It is not known what exactly causes such a link, nor what effects it may have on or off the battlefield, as further studies are required to fully understand its implications. What is doubtlessly true, however, is that the 'link' holds great potential for the benefit of both our races…"_

—Professor Oak, creator of the all-purpose electronic encyclopedia _Pokèdex_, part-time scientist, and expert in Pokè-Human Relations

* * *

Kapi wondered, briefly, if she was dead.

It certainly seemed that way. She couldn't feel anything, for starters. She didn't even know if her body existed anymore. And around her there was nothing but blackness.

But then…

…then something strange happened. Something she hadn't expected at all.

A voice spoke out to her: **_"Wake up."_**

And she did.

Kapi gasped, letting out a shuddering breath as the sensation in her body returned all at once. Oh _man_, she was in pain. "Pure agony"simply didn't do it justice.

She moaned, attempting to roll over and not quite succeeding. There were sounds occurring all around her; some of them were grunts of exertion, others were Pikachu's distinctive cries. Those humans were yelling something, but it all ran together in Kapi's mind like so much watery ink. Her head throbbed. She felt so tired…

Struggling with every movement, she managed to push herself up onto her hands and knees. Then she opened her eyes.

BAM. A purple bolt of energy clashed with a lightning bolt not inches from her face. She yelped and jerked backwards from reflex, toppling over onto her shell.

What the heck was _that_?

"PIKAAA!" The war cry was followed by an explosion of dirt and grass somewhere to her right. The bells in Kapi's ears rang all sorts of melodies. That had been loud.

"Hmph!" A buzzing filled Kapi's head as another purple bolt zapped by. "HAH!"

"CHUUU!" _Kaboom._ Another explosion.

_It's a battle,_ Kapi realized. _I'm in the middle of a battle!_

Survival instincts kicked in. Get the hell out of there. Stay low so they don't see you. Keep quiet. Move fast. She proceeded to do just that, blocking out the pain and crawling forward on her belly toward the shelter of the trees.

* * *

He snarled. Dark Matter was no fool. It knew exactly how he'd beaten it last time, and was making sure the same thing didn't happen again. A constant flurry of attacks was raining upon him, forcing him to use all his mental faculties to keep them at bay. As such, he couldn't focus enough to exorcize the evil presence from Pikachu.

Clever.

He used his own resources to block the strikes, emitting waves of violet psionic energy made manifest through his will alone. Maybe if he knocked the miserable rodent out, he could…

ZAP. Ouch! _Damn,_ those lightning bolts stung!

Out of rage he went on the offensive, enlarging the size of his strike to three times normal size. "EEYAH!" The punch would have dissolved the better half of one's head upon contact, but instead it met only air. He paid for the opening in his defenses as another blast of electricity shocked him from behind.

"**STOP DODGING!"** He bellowed into Pikachu's mind. The rodent smirked at him. Purple flashed from its eyes.

He'd hoped this would be another test of wills; his vs. Dark Matter's. He wasn't expecting anything so physical. It was a mistake he cursed himself for as he defended himself and prepared to retaliate.

That creature he'd seen in the clearing…it seemed familiar somehow. It looked like a giant turtle, really. Definitely NOT a Pokèmon, to his knowledge. Whatever it was, he figured it had probably been the cause of that energy spike from earlier.

He had to find out. The presence of something that powerful…it frightened him, really. It was the first time in recent memory that he'd known fear, and he did not like the emotion one bit.

Another lightning bolt hit him in the arm, and he winced. His energy was still fairly high, but it wouldn't be for long at this rate. WHY hadn't he brought along some healing items?? Stupid, stupid, stupid!

As long as Pikachu kept attacking, he wouldn't be able to do anything besides defend himself. But everyone had a limit, and he knew that it would only be a matter of time before his opponent wore himself out. Then…

…Well, then he'd probably beat the crap out of the little rat for being so annoying.

Another bolt came at him, and he raised a translucent purple energy field to block it. Pikachu was darting all over the place, zipping to and fro in quick bursts. It made the Pokèmon very difficult to track with the naked eye, and it was only due to his ability to read the magical plane that he was even able to see his opponent.

But then, at last it happened. Pikachu was beginning to slow down, his attacks becoming sluggish. The strength in his little yellow body was giving out, simply not used to enduring such abuse. Any second now…

There. Pikachu halted in the middle of trying to drag himself back to his feet, and collapsed.

Perfect. He floated over and picked Pikachu up using telekinesis. Now, all he'd need was a few moments…

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Red demanded loudly while running over. "HEY! LEAVE PIKACHU ALONE!"

He sighed and rolled his eyes. Great, just what he needed. Turning to face the human, he put on his best "I'm-getting-ticked-off-so-you'd-better-leave-me-alone" expression. It didn't work.

"Give him back." Red demanded.

Again, he rolled his eyes. Bah, the heck with this! A quick charge of his mental energy, and he teleported away with Pikachu in tow. He'd return the rat once the exorcism was done.

* * *

"HEY!" Kapi heard Red scream. "GET BACK HERE!!"

She didn't bother to turn around and see what was the matter. All she knew was, the sounds of battle had stopped and she was badly injured.

Being a soldier is a tough life. She'd been trained from very early on to deal with pain; wounds were not just a possibility in battle, but an expectation. Even worse, there was always the chance of being captured by the enemy and interrogated via intense torture. She'd been told by her superiors at the time that she'd eventually come to see these risks as just another aspect of battle, another obstacle that must be dealt with and overcome in addition to so many others out in the field.

From what she'd learned by her own experience, their words were mostly correct…and more often than not, one simply had to brave it through instead of whining and complaining…

…but still…

…that didn't stop it from hurting.

Oh, how she yearned for some healing magic right now. Her need was so great that, for the first time, she actually found herself wishing that Kamek was nearby.

As her mind became more aware of itself and its surroundings, she decided it was necessary to check herself for damage.

Let's see…start from the top down. Okay. She blinked, opened and closed her jaw, raised her eyebrows, and just generally did simple facial movements. No difficulty there. Now for the neck...

Ow. A bit of pain along her left side. Bruise, probably. Nothing too serious. Next, her shoulders…

Red Alert. One shoulder wasn't moving. In fact, her whole _arm_ wasn't moving. It felt like a chunk of dead wood. She risked a glance and frowned at it, wondering how in the name of the Almighty Watermelon she'd managed to crawl twenty yards with a dead limb. Chalk another one up to desperation in the heat of battle, she supposed. Well, at least her other arm seemed fine.

She sensed a presence next to her and weakly raised her head to see who it was. Misty's concerned face gazed back at her, taking in all of the Koopa's injuries at once.

"Are you all right?" The Water Trainer asked, holding out a hand to steady Kapi as she swooned. "Red, get over here! Kapi's hurt!"

The boy was still hopping mad and didn't pay her any attention, ranting at the air and swinging his fists at the spot where Pikachu's kidnapper had stood. Misty growled.

"YOU BRING HIM BACK HERE RIGHT N—_OWWWW!_" Red yowled, clutching his head as he was whacked with a large wooden mallet.

"RECALL HER!" Misty demanded, pointing at the wounded Koopa. Red immediately sobered, pulling out the red-and-white ball and doing as requested. Kapi resigned herself to the pulling sensation, hoping that when she next opened her eyes she would be okay.

The red light vanished, and Kapi's ball closed with a small _ding_. Red stared at it, emotions warring on the battleground of his face.

"_Now _what?" Misty huffed, hands on her hips.

"We've gotta get to a Pokècenter." Red answered. "She needs help." He desperately struggled against a wave of sorrow that smashed into him at that moment. _Pikachu…I'm sorry…_

Misty agreed, oblivious to Ash's ordeal. "Fine, let's hurry. And later, we might be able to have the Professor track down that pokènapper for us."

Red nodded, but didn't seem very hopeful. His Pikachu had been miraculously returned to him once already; what were the odds of such happening to him twice?

Not very much at all.

He pocketed Kapi's ball and turned in the direction of the nearest town. "Let's go."

* * *

"Piiiikaaaa…"

He stared down at the whimpering creature, having extracted the evil mist from its body moments ago. Immediately afterward, Dark Matter had fled the scene. It knew better than to mess with him twice, at least while in its true form.

"**Do not worry,**" he told the little yellow rodent."**You are safe now.**"

"…chuuu?" Pikachu blinked through tears, looking at the fuzzy shape above him in confusion. He remembered horrible things…images of death, blood and destruction, all supplied to his mind by the possessive forces of Dark Matter. Fresh tears slid down his cheeks as he recalled how powerless he had been to do anything, how he could only watch as he hurt that nice turtle lady to the point of death…

The creature knelt next to him. One three-fingered hand reached out to softly stroke Pikachu's head, the odd gesture seeming somehow reassuring. "**I am sorry that I must ask this, but you have information I need. What didDark Mattertell you?**"

Pikachu rapidly shook his head, eyes clenched shut.

The creature's gaze went stern with impatience, sensing something urgent was amiss. "**Tell me. What did you hear?!**"

"Ka, ka!" Pikachu wailed, trembling. He knew he wouldn't be able to handle describing some of the nightmare visions he'd seen, at least not yet. It would break his mind to pieces.

In Pikachu's mind, the creature's voice grew louder and more desperate. "**You do not understand. This is a matter of utmost importance; lives could be at stake! Please, tell me what you know!**"

The little yellow mouse Pokèmon shuddered. He understood full well what this creature was implying; for crying out loud, he'd _seen_ what Dark Matter was planning to do with people while watching the images implanted in his mind. But the fear was too great for even that to sway him; it was a mortal fear, a scar upon his psyche that would never fully heal.

His thoughts were interrupted by the now-angry sounding voice of the creature next to him: "**If you do not tell me what you know of Dark Matter's plans, then I will take the information from you by force.**"

Pikachu's eyes went wide with fear. He stared at the creature in terror, but could not move himself to speak.

The creature sighed through his mouth. "**Very well, then.**"

A sharp spike of pain stabbed Pikachu between the eyes as something forced itself into his mind. He screamed, thrashing about as the creature held him to the ground firmly with one hand.

"PIIIIIKAAAAAAPIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII—!"

* * *

The nearest Pokècenter was in Viridian City, which meant that Misty and Red first had to get out of the woods. Their march to the exit was a solemn one; both trainers seemed depressed over what had happened, Red justifiably more so. Only his worry about Kapi's health drove him to keep going, and not break down with despair.

Two days…it had been just two days since Pikachu had come back to him. When he'd gone missing the first time, Red had thought he might go insane from worry. And then, after he was returned by some miracle, not two days pass by before he vanishes again.

Red clutched the hand holding Kapi's pokèball to his chest, trying desperately to not allow himself to cry. The sadness and depression weighed heavily upon him, dragging him down, making his steps heavy and slow. He began to lag further and further behind Misty, who had started shooting worried glances over her shoulder at him. He didn't want to continue, it didn't seem like there was any reason to now that Pikachu was gone. But then he looked down at the Pokèball in his grip and reminded himself that others were depending upon him. He had to keep going, for Kapi's sake at least—

Red suddenly stopped walking and let out a surprised cry, pressing his free hand to the side of his head. A sudden spike of pain had hit him between the eyes, accompanied by a scary feeling of something worming its way into his mind. Misty halted and asked him what was wrong, but he could barely hear her voice—she sounded distant and far away, like there were miles between them as opposed to feet.

The pain increased, and Kapi's ball slipped from Red's fingers as he fell to his knees in agony, clutching his skull with both hands. Alarmed, Misty raced to his side and knelt next to him. She might have said something else, but Red couldn't hear her at all now over the pounding of blood in his ears. It felt like someone was beating a stake into his forehead with a wooden mallet, and the pain was so intense he could barely stand it.

He finally found his voice, as he opened his mouth to scream….

"Red!" Misty cried out, grabbing his shoulder. "Red, what's wrong?! Can you hear me?? RED!"

* * *

_Blood, death, darkness, terror, ruin, pain…_

_Destroy all light, destroy destroy destroy…_

_Breathe.  
__In.  
__Out._

_Cities burning, people screaming, hate, anger, genocide, fear, revulsion…_

no no no stop it let me go

_Breathe.  
__In.  
__Out._

_Throbbing, pulsing, living death, consuming all in its path…_

_A castle, vanishing in a portal of swirling color…_

_Breathe.  
__In.  
__Out._

_Eat, devour, consume, feed…_

let me go let me go let me go

_Breathe.  
__In.  
__Out._

_Two climbers in parkas, overcome by darkness…_

_A robot with blue armor, dying on the floor…_

_Breathe.  
__In.  
__Out._

stop it please somebody help me

_Agony, loathing, jealousy, vileness, rage…_

_Breathe.  
__In.  
__Out._

_The light plans against us, it unites to strike us down…_

_It will pay for its insolence…_

_Breathe.  
__In.  
__Out._

_Must destroy the light. Must consume it all, until none is left…_

HELP ME HELP ME HELP ME

_Breathe.  
__In.  
__Out._

_

* * *

_

Then the pain and horrid images that swam through Pikachu's mind vanished, dissolving into nothingness like they had never existed at all. The hand that had held him down retracted as the creature stood up, thinking hard.

Gosh, no wonder the Pokèmon hadn't wanted to talk about it. The creature himself shuddered at some of the more graphic images he'd found during his brief mind-scan.

Pikachu was left lying limp on the ground, gasping for breath and too weak to do anything else. The sight sent a twinge of remorse through the creature.

"…**I am sorry that I had to do that.**" He said. "**To make up for it, I will not erase the memories you and your friends have of what has happened, like I had planned. Be thankful; no one else to this day has ever seen what I looked like and remembered it afterwards.**" He frowned for a moment, wondering if it was a good idea for them to remember such important information. Finally he shook his head, dispelling any doubts he had. This was the least he could do for them."**Come, I will take you back to your friends now.**"

Pikachu didn't reply, but his expression clearly asked a question. The creature paused, able to guess the unheard query without even reading the Pokèmon's thoughts.

"**My name…**" The creature frowned. "**I have none. But humans call me…**"

There was a flash of light; the dizziness of teleportation pounding through him, Pikachu's senses cut out as his consciousness faded, the voice in his mind the last thing he registered.

"…**Mewtwo.**"

All turned to darkness.


	20. Chapter Eighteen: Generation Gap, Part T...

Generation Gap  
(The Light Blue World)  
Part 2

"…_It's not that we, as the human race, have made a mistake in creating an artificial sentience within machines. Far from it, actually. It is perhaps mankind's greatest achievement to date; yet one cannot help but wonder if, in our jubilation and excitement towards giving birth to a new species, we ever considered the consequences of our actions…"_

—James Cain, author of _Reploids and Their Place In Society_

* * *

The wind howled.

He stood alone on the field, brooding. Like a boulder scoured clean by eons of time, he refused to move even in the midst of such fierce gales. Sure, they could batter him all they liked. They could throw a friggin' tornado at him for all he cared. But he still wouldn't budge until he wanted to.

His hair billowed out behind him in a long yellow streamer, blaspheming against gravity with its unwillingness to point downwards. He paid it no mind, not even moving when it whipped around his head and into his face.

His senses were turned inward, in a dark moment of thought and soul-searching, recalling distant memories of past events, where he looked different and did not fight alone…

A young human timidly approached from behind, wearing a fur coat to protect her fragile frame from the gusts. She looked around herself for a bit, hesitant, wondering if she should speak with him now.

"Why are you here?"

The question came so suddenly and unexpected that the girl jumped. "Um, I—I wanted to ask you what's wrong." She responded after a moment, quick to regain her composure.

He turned to look at her, green eyes conveying a look of such strong emotion that she was unable to meet his gaze for more than a few seconds. "You should not be out here." He said quietly, dodging the unspoken question. "Go back to the Base."

"Not until you tell me what's wrong." The girl responded, more firmly yet with eyes still looking away from him.

"……" He said nothing. He almost couldn't bear to speak of it. The subject hurt him…

She took a chance and looked him in the face. Those eyes of his were closed, so the action was safe. "Zero, please…" The girl begged, putting a hand on his shoulder.

He broke away from her grip, turning to stare off into the distance. "Ciel, what do you know about me?"

She blinked, pulling her outstretched hand back a bit. "What do I know…? Well, you're one of the top members of the Resistance, you've saved us from a number of enemies and weapons of mass destruction, you're very skilled with a beam saber…"

"That's not what I meant." Zero frowned, his gaze burning a hole into some spot on the horizon. "I was referring to my past."

Ciel blinked. Here was a subject she had never heard him speak of before.

"Y-your—?"

He interrupted her before her half-formed question could complete: "Have I ever spoken to you of a mission I undertook before the Repliforce incident, when X and I traveled through time?"

Now he turned to make eye contact with her. Bewildered, she could do nothing but shake her head 'no'. He continued: "During that mission, a future version of myself assisted us."

He put both hands on her shoulders. "Ciel, this morning it all seemed to click together. That future version had been me, as I am _now_—one hundred years after X and I vanished through a time-traveling portal. Two hundred years after the mission itself happened in the past."

Now she began to understand him. Her eyes slowly opened wider. "You mean—"

"I don't know when, but eventually I'll have to go back in time to that mission." Zero nodded. "Now that I AM that future version, I must go and help everyone back then. They need me."

"But…how?"

Zero sighed, turning back to stare off into the distance. His expression, which had just now displayed such earnestness, soon retreated back into its cold, stony shell.

"I don't know." He spoke. A gale struck him in the midriff, provoking no reaction whatsoever. Ciel shrieked and grabbed her coat to keep it from blowing straight off her. She latched onto Zero's shoulder, using him for anchorage and shelter as the wind speed reached heights that only a machine could stand upright against. Finally the gales faded, leaving Ciel clutching Zero and panting from fright.

The reploid inclined his head slightly. "Hmm. Mild day today."

Ciel did a double-take. "MILD?"

"Yes." He responded flatly. "A _bad_ day would do much worse than knock youover. And unfortunately, it's about to get bad."

"Wh-what do you mean?" Ciel asked with a nervous stutter. In answer, Zero merely pointed in the direction he currently faced.

Ciel looked around him and let out a gasp. A swelling black thunderhead seemed to span the entire sky up ahead. It was as if there was an imaginary line that separated day from night, and it was headed in their direction…but the flashes of electricity among the clouds revealed their true nature.

Ciel could believe Zero's claim about what bad days could do. He had probably seen more of the surface world in his life than anyone could, especially in these times...

The Legendary Hunter turned to face the direction of the Resistance Base. "Come, you need shelter." Without so much as a warning he scooped her entirely off her feet and into his arms, then activated his dash-thrusters. Bluish-white flames burst from the bottoms of his feet as they were propelled forward by the wonders of modern rocket technology, jetting along just above the ground.

And the wind watched them leave, laughing all the while.

* * *

The year was 20XX.

The place was a laboratory, one where world-renowned scientist Dr. Light built tools to battle in a constant bid for peace against the forces of evil.

The characters were of a varied assortment, both tall and small, robot and human, male and female. But the one on which we have focused our attention is Mega Man, who at this precise moment in history was in the act of turning to check up on his creator. He stopped short, however, upon noticing said creator's current facial expression.

"Whoah! Dr. Light, are you okay?" The little blue robot uttered, not used to the elderly scientist looking so shocked and surprised. It took a few moments before Light gave a barely perceptible nod, unable to speak his thoughts out loud.

Zero turned to look at Mega Man. "Dr. Light?" He asked, puzzled. "But that would mean—" His eyes widened, and Magma Dragoon could picture the classic lightbulb blinking into existence above his pointed red helmet. "You're Mega Man, aren't you?"

"My reputation precedes me." Mega exclaimed sarcastically. He took off his helmet with a pneumatic hiss and held it at his side, running a hand through his wavy black hair. "Just who the heck are you?"

Zero's face broke out into a sharp-toothed smile that somehow made the robot feel uncomfortable. "Oh, my rank should be sufficient for now. I'm the commander of Elite Unit #0 in the Maverick Hunters."

Mega Man was nonplussed. "Uh huh. What's that?"

Magma broke in before Zero could give a smart-aleck retort. "Maverick hunters get rid of bad robots that try to harm humans." He answered, simplifying the many concepts behind the organization's existence.

Mega Man blinked. "But, wait…that's _my _job!"

Roll arched an eyebrow at him. Elite Unit Number Zero? Maverick Hunters? She shook her head, feeling lost. Just what the heck was going on?

"Unnnh…" X groaned, stirring. "What…..happened…..?"

"Yo! X buddy, wake up!" Zero snorted, crouching down to give his friend a light smack on the face. "You don't want me to tell Cain you were lying down on the job, do ya?"

"Cain…..? What?" X blinked, attempting to get up but only succeeding in falling down again. "I—I think I just had some sort of dream, you guys….." He looked up at Magma and Zero. "It was really freaky."

"No dream, sir." Magma replied, tone serious. "I believe the portal we entered sent us back in time."

X's expression lit up like a sunbeam. "No way. You're kidding me. We couldn't _possibly _have been that lucky…" There was silence for a moment, as he looked back and forth between his comrades. "…could we?"

"Apparently, we could." Zero snickered, helping X up and dusting him off. Magma said nothing, but he did frown as if something disagreed with him. Zero swept out a hand in a gesture that encompassed the whole room. "Welcome to 20XX. I'd like you to meet none other than the esteemed Doctor Light, the genius who built that short chap in blue you see over there."

"My name is _Rock_!" Mega declared angrily. Zero held up one finger and wagged it from side to side, as if scolding a disobedient child.

"Nah-ah-ah! I'm sorry, that is incorrect! No luxury cruise and complimentary luggage set for you. See, your name is _actually _Mega Man, or 'The Blue Bomber', if you prefer."

"That's just what the press call him." Roll interjected. "His real name _is_ Rock. We called him that before…well, you know." At this point her attention shifted to X, who during the previous exchange had turned to stare at his creator with a jumbled mix of feelings on his face. His reaction seemed so organic, that Roll couldn't help but comment at it. "My, whoever programmed you three must have been a genius. I've never seen such realistic emotions before."

Zero rolled his eyes. The irony was so thick that he could've sworn he could carve it up and serve it for dinner. "Yeah, you could say they were pretty smart." He agreed.

"I get it…you're from the future, aren't you?" It was Mega's question.

X blinked, looking intently at what for all intents and purposes could be called his 'older brother'. For the longest time there was nothing but silence. Then X smiled.

"Yes…..yes, we are. One hundred and twelve years into the future, to be exact." He held out one hand for the diminutive blue robot to take and opened his mouth to speak. "I am called—"

"No! STOP!"

X, as well as everyone else in the room, looked at the reploid who had yelled out. "Wha--? Magma? What's wrong?" X asked. He was graced with a stare of disbelief by the Dragoon.

"Don't you understand? You CAN'T tell them who you are! It would affect the future—OUR present. Who knows what could happen!"

Zero's brows furrowed. Suddenly he looked much more serious. "Hmm, I didn't think of that." He muttered. "X, as much as I hate to admit it, he's right. While we're here, we can only observe; no interaction."

X gave his friend an angry look. He wanted to get technical? Fine. X could do that too. "That's impossible. The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, remember? Anything you observe, you also change."

"Then we do so as little as possible." Magma Dragoon decided. "Cain would expect us to."

"But they might be able to help us get back to our time!" X protested, looking around pleadingly at the three members of the Light family. "Right?"

"Uh, well…" Mega Man scratched his head—he didn't itch, but he'd seen humans perform such an action before when uncertain or confused—then he shrugged. "I don't know. Dr. Light is pretty good at inventing stuff, but this isn't exactly a subject he's studied before. And although I know a bit about fixing things, I'm mostly a combat robot. Roll just takes care of housekeeping, cooking, and general maintenance, so I doubt she'll be of much help…"

Dr. Light seemed to come out of a trance, and shook himself slightly as if he were waking from sleep. "Time travel?" He blinked. "My friend Cossack might know a thing or two, he's studied in that field before. I'll contact him, and we'll see what we can do."

"Where will they go in the meantime?" Roll demanded. "I'm not keeping one in _my_ room, that's for sure!"

The doctor scratched his fluffy white beard. "I think there's a couple guest rooms in the building that they can use."

Magma bowed from the waist. "Thank you for your hospitality."

Roll frowned, then shrugged. "Well, as long as they're not bunking with me."

Zero whistled. "Wow, Dr. Light, how'd you manage to program the inexplicable female mind into her?" He joked.

"HEY!" Roll yelled.

Dr. Light chuckled. "It took some doing, and in the end I needed a bit of help from some women I knew…"

"All I remember is that she was a hassle to put together." Mega Man grinned. "I was just a tool-user back then…but man, for a while there Dr. Light and Dr. Wily were completely lost."

Zero tensed up, going completely rigid upon hearing the second scientist's name. Somehow he controlled himself enough to not let any emotions show on his face, keeping it neutral. Magma noted his reaction with interest. He glanced at X and saw a similar recognition of the name, though not nearly as obvious as Zero's. Odd. He'd have to look into this, later.

Mega Man looked down at his feet. "You know…I wish you guys could tell us what the future's like." He said mournfully. "It would help to know whether all that I've been doing has been worth the effort or not."

Magma and Zero exchanged a glance. They were both thinking the same thing.

X kneeled down to eye level with the diminutive blue robot. "Look at it this way," He replied. "The fact that we're here proves that there will be a future, after all—as opposed to there being none."

"Yeah…" Mega looked up, face determined. "But unless I do what I've come back here for, that won't matter."

"Rock, what are you talking about??" Roll demanded. "You're not leaving _again_, are you?"

"Sorry sis, but I have to. Universes to save and all, I'm sure you understand." He winked, slapping his helmet back onto his head. Roll was suddenly struck by the realization of how similar he and X looked. She glanced back and forth from one to the other and blinked in puzzlement, but finally disregarded it as a coincidence.

X looked confused at Mega Man's words. "Uh, what's going on?" He asked.

Mega turned to him. "Oh, wait…I didn't tell you, did I?" He groaned. "Great. Here we go again….."

* * *

"…..wait, wait, wait. Slow down. What'll happen if you don't find this generator?" X still seemed puzzled as to what his older, robot 'brother' was talking about. The Blue Bomber let out an impatient sigh.

"I told you, the short version is that it'll destroy our universe, and every other one."

"There are other universes?"

"Yes."

X looked thoughtful. "Wow. That fact alone is gonna completely turn science upside-down."

"There's no time to tell you everything; I've gotta get going." Mega Man nodded at his creator and sister. "See you guys later, ok?"

"Wait, let me go with you." X offered.

Mega gave him a swift, appraising look. "Can you fight?"

X half-smiled. "I'm decades more advanced than you. Remember?"

"Good point. Alright, come on then."

"Whoa, wait a second." Zero suddenly protested. "Hey, he's not goin' anywhere without me." He grabbed X in a playful headlock. "Us friends gotta look out for each other, ya see."

X growled at him and quickly wrestled his way out of the red Hunter's grip, rubbing his neck. "Stop doing that. It hurts."

"Why X, you wound me!" Zero mock-gasped, clutching a hand to his chestplate. "Do you mean to say you dislike the way I show my companionship to other males?" He shook his finger in the azure Hunter's face. "Shame on you!"

X rolled his eyes, slapping Zero's hand away. "No, I'm saying you grab my neck too hard. I'll wind up with a spinal injury if you keep it up." He looked over at the third reploid in the room. "Anyway…Magma, what about you? Are you coming with us?"

Both Mega Man and Zero glanced at the Dragoon, who frowned. "This is interacting with the time period," He warned.

"Not really." Zero shrugged. "We're just helping Rock over there with something that he'd wind up doing anyway, if we weren't here."

Magma let out a grunt of irritation. "I still don't like it, but I don't suppose I can keep you from going."

"That's the spirit!" Zero gave the dragoon a painfully hard slap on the back, a gesture that was meant to be friendly.

"But I'm staying here, though." Magma added. When X looked about to protest, he quickly explained. "Someone has to remain behind to help Dr. Light and this Cossack fellow with what they'll be doing. I might know some advanced robotics techniques that could help them build a time-traveling device, should they get stuck at any point."

Zero shrugged. "No problem, X and I can handle it."

_He's speaking as if I don't exist—or worse yet, don't matter. _Mega Man gave a private grimace. He looked at his 'father'. "Doctor Light, you'll be calling Doctor Cossack and having him come over here while we're gone, won't you?"

Light waved them away. "Of course. Good luck."

"Thanks." Mega muttered. "Okay you two, we'll start at the Western Continent in one of Wily's old fortresses. They'd be pretty good spots to hide something in. Set your teleporters to—" he rattled of a list of coordinates, and the reploids tinkered with individual control panels on their arms, inputting the data. "—and that should do it. All set?"

Zero unsheathed his beam saber, grinning as X armed his Buster and began to charge it. "Let's go." The latter said. The three turned into colored beams of light and vanished, disappearing through the roof.

Roll gave Dr. Light a sour look as soon as they had gone. "What was that all about, telling them 'I took some doing'??"

Light didn't answer, staring in deep thought at the spot X had occupied seconds before.

"Dr. Light? Hello?" Magma Dragoon asked, wondering if the scientist could even hear him. No response.

"HEY! WAKE UP!" Roll yelled, stomping her foot hard enough to shake the floor. Dr. Light gave a sudden start and looked around, blinking at her.

"Ah! Oh, uh, yes Roll? What is it?"

She growled and repeated her question. The Doctor gave a helpless shrug in reply.

"Well, it's true." He admitted. "Your programming _was _harder to do than Rock's. But I really wanted a 'daughter' in addition to a 'son', so…" He smiled. "Don't worry. You've turned out fine."

Magma Dragoon gave a polite cough. Dr. Light suddenly looked up at him. "Hmm? Oh yes, Dr. Cossack! Just wait there, and I'll go call him up now…" The elderly scientist strode over to the massive computer console opposite the entrance.

Unseen to any of the three individuals present, a shadow detached itself from one of the room's dark corners and set off at a brisk pace through the building. _That red guy with the ponytail...he doesn't feel right. _Protoman thought with a frown. _He gives me the creeps, for some reason. I don't like him. _

He paused at an intersection, then chose a hallway and started down it, teeth gritted in irritation. _And now he's trying to become friends with Rock. Something stinks here, I just wish I knew what…_He entered a storage room and grabbed a few E-tanks, canisters of pure energy that humanoid robots such as himself, Mega Man and Roll used to fuel their mechanical bodies. As an afterthought he also grabbed a tank of special energy that could only be used for matter synthesis, i.e. the weapons that Rock seemed fond of stealing from Wily's robots.

Speaking of which…

He clipped the supplies to a black belt around his waist and mentally accessed his own Variable Module Grid, a 'list' of the different weapons he'd gotten installed after his brother had brought them home from his adventures. Hmmm, not bad. Atomic Fire, Thunder Beam, Time Stopper, Gyro Blade, Noise Crush, and Petal Shield. A good arsenal. He looked at the last weapon on his list and groaned. Top Spin. Why the heck had he gotten that one?? Magnet Missile or Gemini Laser would've been better…oh well, too late now. The other weapons were already locked away in the main computer and off-limits to everyone except in emergencies.

Upon darting a swift look around to make sure nobody had seen him, he fingered his own portable teleporter. Unlike Mega Man, it wasn't installed directly into his body; instead, it had been placed inside the oblong shield he always carried with him.A tiny smirk appeared on his face. _Well, I'll just have to watch Bro's back like usual, it seems…_

Without a sound, the mysterious Red Raider vanished.

* * *

The teleport ended with little fanfare. Mega Man had gotten somewhat used to bracing himself for mobs of star-struck fans suddenly springing upon him whenever he appeared somewhere in his famous battle uniform, but there was nobody around to greet him this time when he touched down with his two companions and re-materialized.

It was evening in this area of the world, despite being early morning back home at Dr. Light's lab. The landscape was rocky and barren, with reddish-brown soil. No grass or plants grew underfoot. A small cliff stood before them, with a dark and misshapen building carved out of its base. The sunset behind the rock formation cast such a glare upon the area that the building was nearly invisible. What light wasn't blocked by it cast a forbidding blood-red shade upon the scene, making it look even more ominous than usual.

The building was Dr. Wily's sixth fortress, the only one so far that had not somehow blown up or collapsed into rubble. It still stood, a monument to the mad ambitions of a madder mind. None were willing to tear the thing down; all were fearful of anything built by Wily or his robots, and superstition concerning the fortresses ran high among the world's human populace. Thus, the giant structure seemed exactly the same as it had been the last time Mega Man had entered its depths.

It was protected from strikes at the rear or from the air by being built up against a cliff that jutted out above it in an overhang. This meant the only option of attack or invasion would have to be a direct one. The entire front-facing half of the fortress was shaped like a giant, bleached human skull with no lower jaw; the upper jaw rested on the ground with the main entrance between two of its 'teeth'. The large, gaping eye sockets were in fact huge observation windows that had been tinted black. They covered two equally huge observation rooms where Wily had personally watched for intruders at times. He may have been insane, but he was also paranoid old fart and took no chances.

Mega Man scrunched his face up like he'd seen humans do whenever they ate lemons.

He hated the place.

He hated it as much as his programming allowed, and even then wished he could hate it more. It stood for everything he didn't like about his life; the unfair role of violence, murder and destruction he'd been forced into by Fate and circumstance.

Nothing disturbed the slow howl of the wind over the rocky landscape for a few moments, until Zero finally spoke up behind him.

"What a dump. I mean…_damn_."

Somehow, Mega Man doubted he could have said it better himself.

It was X who spoke up next. "Are those stormclouds natural, or did they get created as part of the decor?" He asked, pointing up at the dark gray sky directly above Skull Fortress Mk-VI.

The Blue Bomber looked over at him and gave a brief chuckle. "Created. Wily's a huge fan of the dramatic." He kicked a small rock and watched it go sailing through the air like a football, until it landed near the outer wall of the building. "Ugly little bugger of a place, isn't it? I remember coming here three years ago. Not a pleasant trip, let me assure you." He began to walk forward in the direction of the main entrance. "Keep your guard up. A bunch of Wily's old robots might still be around, and they love using sneak attacks."

It was annoyingly quiet. Something wasn't right…

X followed Mega Man a ways before he noticed Zero wasn't with him. He looked back at where they'd teleported. Zero hadn't moved, staring at the Skull Fortress as if entranced. "Zero? Hey, are you okay?"

"This place…" The crimson hunter muttered, seeming not to have heard. "There's something odd about it." He began walking forward until he'd passed X by, not even looking at his friend once. "It's weird…maybe…_familiar_? But it couldn't be…unless…" He continued to mutter to himself all the way up to the castle's entrance, leaving a confused X to catch up at a run.

"Gee, it looks kinda dark in there." The azure Maverick Hunter observed once he'd reached the others. Mega Man placed his hands on his hips and frowned.

"Yup. Power got severed last time I came around here. Hope you two have night-vision capabilities, like I do. You'll need 'em."

"We'll be fine." Zero said as they began to walk inside. "Just lead the way." He seemed much less jovial and playful than normal. X wondered why, before he was distracted by adjusting his vision to compensate for the lack of light inside the building.

It was a wreck.

"Holy hell…" X whistled. Machine parts were scattered everywhere, some smashed to pieces, others looking like they'd been subjected to intense heat or frigid cold. He bent down to examine one half-intact warbot where it lay discarded against a cracked wall. "Did you do all this, Rock?"

"Don't call me that." Mega Man snapped, turning to look at him. X could see the robot's glare clearly in the night-vision's shades of green. "I'm Mega Man right now. Rock only comes out when I'm at home."

X blinked, looking at the robot as if he was crazy. "Um, say again?"

"Forget it. I don't wanna talk about it now. Let's just look around and leave, I can't stand this place for too long." Mega Man growled, stomping forward and carelessly crushing parts underfoot. Zero went after him, and X rose and followed at a slower rate.

For a while, there was silence. No sounds were made except for those created by the trio as they navigated the fortress. Mega Man had a partially-complete map of the place logged in his memory, but it only covered the areas he'd been through on his last visit. Since the alternative was possibly getting lost within the labyrinthine hallways, he stuck to the mapped portion and searched there first.

Zero continued to look uneasy as they trudged on, darting his head around in quick, tense movements. X knew something was up—his partner hardly ever became antsy unless there was a threat nearby.

When Zero next glanced his way, X silently mouthed out, "What's up?"

Zero frowned, then slowed down until he and X were walking side-by-side. With another hasty look around, Zero turned to him. "We're not alone." He mouthed back.

X's eyes widened, and suddenly he began to feel antsy himself. Zero gave a tiny, almost imperceptible jerk of his head in the direction they'd just come from, indicating that whoever else was in this fortress was following them. X almost turned to look but caught himself when Zero gave a small shake of his head. They had to wait until their follower revealed him- or herself, otherwise he or she would have time to escape from them.

X turned back to face forward again, expression grim. This excursion was beginning to seem like less of a good idea and more along the lines of a bad one the longer they stayed in here.

In the shadows behind them, a single figure continued to silently follow their trail…

* * *

Meanwhile, 200 years in the future...

Zero and Ciel entered the elevator to the Resistance Base after being cleared by the guards on duty. Thunder boomed overhead; the storm was getting closer. Ciel quickly punched in the command for the third floor into the elevator's keypad, and they descended into the earth with a soft _hum_.

Ciel glanced shyly at Zero out of the corner of her eye. He stood motionless, staring straight ahead at the metal walls flashing by them as they rode the lift downwards. She considered talking to him, telling him what she felt. Then she abandoned the idea. No, it'd never work. Zero was just too serious-minded for idle conversation. Little did she realize how bizarre such an observation would have seemed one hundred years previous.

"You don't want me to go, do you?"

Ciel jumped, startled that the Reploid had spoken so suddenly. "What??" She asked.

He cast a sideways glance in her direction before turning back to the wall. "You're worried about me. Correct?"

She stared at him, stunned he'd guessed her thoughts so easily. "Umm…y-yes…" _How can he be so perceptive, yet seem so oblivious to all that goes on around him?_ She wondered.

"Heh." Zero closed his eyes and smiled—he actually _smiled_—upon hearing this. "Thanks. I appreciate your concern." The moment passed as his expression became a stone wall once again. "But it's unnecessary, though. My memory might not be as good as it used to be, but I do remember that my future self made it out of that mission alive."

Ciel let out a deep sigh of relief, leaning weakly against the elevator wall. Thank God. That was one less headache for her to worry about, at least.

The elevator slowed to a stop in front of Sublevel 2, the Command Center. No sooner had they stepped out of the platform and into a hallway before them than they were confronted by a small blonde reploid that had been modeled to look like a young human girl. She was clutching a white stuffed doll to her chest and peered over it shyly at them.

"Hi Zero, hi Ciel." She murmured.

Ciel smiled warmly. "Hello Alouette! Miss us?"

The girl nodded, her big innocent eyes fixed upon Zero. After a few moments, her expression turned sad. "You're gonna leave again, aren't you?"

Ciel and Zero exchanged a sideways glance. "Yes." He replied. No use lying about it.

Alouette nodded and gazed at the floor sadly. "I wish you didn't have to go. I wish you could stay here forever…"

"…" Zero didn't answer. Ciel frowned at him, then turned to reassure the girl. "Don't worry, Zero isn't going anywhere right now. He's just being a smarty-pants." She glared at him. "AREN'T you?"

The reploid just stared at her. She was almost terminally shy around him…except when Alouette was involved. It confused him to no end why Ciel was like that. Apparently, keeping the girl reploid happy was more important to her than whatever normally kept her in check in his presence…

Finally he gave a noncommittal grunt and looked away. Ciel gave Alouette a warm smile. "See?"

The girl looked skeptical, but didn't voice an objection. "Well, okay. If you say so, Ciel."

A sudden blast of thunder made the two females jump. Zero, of course, was unmoved. Although it did cause him some slight embarrassment when he looked down to see them both clutching him out of fear.

"Um…" He blinked.

Ciel looked up at him. Then she looked at her hands, wrapped around his waist. Suddenly she was aware of how close their bodies were to each other. She released Zero immediately and leaped back with more speed than his dash-thrusters could ever conjure up, her cheeks blooming with crimson. Alouette stayed next to the red Hunter, though.

"Ze-r-ro…I'm s-scared…" The little reploid girl whimpered.

The Hunter gave her a confused look. "Why? There's nothing to fear. We're well protected from the storm down here, correct Ciel?" He looked to her for confirmation.

"U-uh, I-I-I, um…" The scientist was busy looking everywhere but at Zero, her blush still visible. She felt mortified at having grabbed him like that and still hadn't gotten over it.

Zero blinked again, recognizing the human's reaction as extreme embarrassment. "Okaaaaay, never mind, then…"

_KABOOM_, roared another blast of thunder. Alouette shrieked and clutched Zero even tighter.

* * *

"Careful, now…" Mega Man warned as X threw all his strength into lifting upwards.The reploid let out a grunt of exertion as the gate before them began to move, its mechanisms giving a metallic whine as it was forced to retract into the ceiling.

"Man…this…thing…is…_heavy!_" X huffed, straining his mechanical arms as he pulled up.

Mega Man looked thoughtful as he watched the reploid's progress with his night-vision. Normally, such gates would open automatically to whoever came near, then would close and lock themselves afterwards, becoming unopenable from their opposite side. But with no electricity available, the trio had been forced to use manual labor to open them so far.

As Mega Man had quickly learned during his adventures, the gates were made from an extremely durable material that either absorbed or reflected all his weaponry—but said material was also very, very dense, causing its weight to be astronomical. He'd learned _that _fun little fact when he'd tried to lift the first one they'd come across and had nearly torn his arms off. Since then, he'd elected to let the reploids handle the problem. At least X and Zero were familiar with the gates, too—from what little they'd told Mega Man, they were a common feature in the future as well.

Zero kept a furtive watch, darting swift looks all over the place in the direction they'd come from. He knew their pursuer was out there, somewhere, watching them and waiting. Waiting for what? Zero didn't know, nor did he care. If he could just catch a glimpse of what said pursuer looked like, he'd at least know what they were up against…

With a final protesting screech, the gate slammed open. X stood underneath it, panting to refuel his systems with air. Mega Man peeked around him, scanning the room beyond for enemies.

"…well?" The blue-armored Reploid gasped out at last.

"I don't see anything." Mega reported.

X gave a slight nod. "Okay, then. C'mon, Zero!"

With a frown, the red Maverick Hunter followed them into darkness.


End file.
